Watchdog confirms government may have broken law on river pollution

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/01/watchdog-confirms-government-may-have-broken-law-on-river-pollution/

The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP), the government’s own environmental watchdog, has confirmed that the government may have broken environmental law by the watering down of critical regulations on the pollution of rivers in England.

The disclosure was made in response to a legal complaint made by ClientEarth and the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) in November 2022 against the Environmental Agency for its failure to monitor and enforce environmental protections on nitrogen pollution.

The complaint was based on Freedom of Information (FOI) requests submitted by WWF and ClientEarth. The FOIs revealed that between January 2020 to December 2021 the Environment Agency conducted 2,213 inspections of three key agricultural regulations, identifying breaches in almost half of farms. However, only one case was issued with a civil sanction.  

According to ClientEarth and WWF, these inspections represented just 2 percent of farms each year, suggesting that the Environment Agency has “little idea of the scale of law breaking taking place and of the damage being currently done to the environment.”

Given the high levels of nitrogen pollution in England, WWF and ClientEarth accused the Environment Agency of “an unlawful abdication of its statutory responsibilities.”

In response to the WWF and ClientEarth’s complaint, the OEP agreed that the Environment Agency had potentially breached environmental law by failing to adequately assess environmental impacts on protected conservation sites before allowing farmers to exceed manure spreading limits. English rivers are particularly at risk of nitrogen-related pollution, with over half the country classified as vulnerable to nitrogen run-off.

https://leftfootforward.org/2024/01/watchdog-confirms-government-may-have-broken-law-on-river-pollution/

Continue ReadingWatchdog confirms government may have broken law on river pollution

Six water companies to face legal action over alleged underreporting of pollution incidents

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/six-water-companies-to-face-legal-action-over-alleged-underreporting-of-pollution-incidents

Members of the public and campaigners from Hastings and St Leonards Clean Water Action, protest against raw sewage release incidents on the beach in St Leonards, Sussex, August 26, 2022

SIX private water companies across England are facing landmark legal action over allegations of under-reporting pollution incidents and overcharging customers.

Severn Trent Water, Thames Water, United Utilities, Anglian Water, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water could end up forking out more than £800 million in compensation to over 20 million customers if the cases are successful.

Environmental and water consultant Professor Carolyn Roberts, who is being represented by Leigh Day Solicitors, claimed that the firms have broken competition laws by misleading the Environment Agency and regulator Ofwat.

She alleges they have been under-reporting the number of sewage discharges, resulting in customers being “unfairly overcharged” for wastewater services, and that had sewage discharge reporting been accurate it would have lowered customer bills.

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/six-water-companies-to-face-legal-action-over-alleged-underreporting-of-pollution-incidents

Continue ReadingSix water companies to face legal action over alleged underreporting of pollution incidents

Starmer accuses government of ‘turning Britain’s waterways into an open sewer’ and where he got that idea from

Read more about the article Starmer accuses government of ‘turning Britain’s waterways into an open sewer’ and where he got that idea from
April 2023 Surfers Against Sewage and Extinction Rebellion protests in St Agnes, Perranporth, Truro and Charlestown which unveiled spoof Blue Plaques to the MPs and Conservative Government who allowed raw sewage to be dumped in the sea (Image: Surfers Against Sewage)
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Starmer accuses government of ‘turning Britain’s waterways into an open sewer’

Keir Starmer has accused the government of “turning Britain’s waterways into an open sewer”, as data showed raw discharges were sent into English rivers 825 times a day last year.

Private water companies have been consistently accused of failing to take action, and the Environment Agency admitted there were more than 300,000 spillages into rivers and coastal areas in 2022, lasting for more than 1.75m hours.

The alarming figures led to calls for the environment secretary, Thérèse Coffey, to resign, and added to the pressure on Rishi Sunak to do more to tackle the issue.

Clean water has become a politically charged topic in the runup to May’s local elections, and Labour and the Liberal Democrats are mounting campaigns against the government’s record on raw sewage.

and where he got that idea from?

UK Extinction Rebellion joins other groups to protest UK govt policy of open sewers throughout UK

Extinction Rebellion has been joining with other groups to campaign against UK government policy of treating rivers as “open sewers” but the phrase was originally mine. Granted it’s obvious but is there an earlier use of treating rivers as open sewers than mine?

Please be aware that I am opposed to UK Labour Party leader Keir Starmer because he’s a nasty Zionist Neo-Con who has hijacked the Labour Party.

Continue ReadingStarmer accuses government of ‘turning Britain’s waterways into an open sewer’ and where he got that idea from