The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has launched an investigation into the government’s Statutory Guidance on applying the Farming Rules for Water (FRfW).

The regulations aim to reduce and prevent water pollution from agriculture by requiring farmers to plan the application of organic manure and manufactured fertiliser so that it does not exceed the needs of the soil and crop.

Defra issued Statutory Guidance in 2022 setting out criteria the Environment Agency should consider when assessing whether it should take enforcement action under the FrfW.

The investigation follows a complaint received by the OEP from WWF-UK and ClientEarth regarding the Statutory Guidance.

Helen Venn, the OEP’s Chief Regulatory Officer, said:

“Our investigation will seek to clarify whether Defra failed to comply with environmental law by issuing and continuing to make public the Statutory Guidance to its regulator on its enforcement of the Farming Rules for Water.

“The OEP believes that the Statutory Guidance may be unlawful as some of the wording is not consistent with the regulations themselves. This guidance is likely to be relied upon by farmers and may therefore lead to breaches of the regulations when applying manure or fertiliser to the land.

“Alongside launching this investigation, we have issued an Information Notice to the Secretary of State setting out the details of these possible failures. We will wait to see their formal response to that Notice before deciding next steps.

“We are aware that a great deal of work is now underway to address concerns about water quality, including most notably the Water Commission recently announced by Defra. We hope that clarifying the law around this guidance will make an important contribution as part of that bigger picture.”