WildFish has started a court action seeking to force the withdrawal and redrafting of the Government’s Sewage Overflows Plan
In 2021, raw sewage was dumped in UK rivers by water companies for over 3 million hours.
WildFish are campaigning for ...
The Government has announced that money from the fines handed out to polluting water companies will be re-invested in schemes that benefit our natural environment. WildFish welcome this news but reiterate that the fines put in place will need to be targeted on righting the wrongs.
WildFish have three asks for the re-investment of this money:
Invest in resources
In the first instance, the money should be ploughed into giving the regulators the resources they need to hold the polluters to account.
Incentivise a reaction
The practice of polluters treating fines as a cost of doing business has to stop. The fines need to incentivise a reaction.
Fix the problem
The money needs to be channeled into fixing the problems. Too often the money and resources do not address or rectify the underlying pollution problem.
We welcome pollution fines being directed to the environment rather than swallowed by the Treasury but, for this to have any meaning, the Environment Agency and Ofwat need to be properly resourced to enforce the existing regulation – which we suspect is routinely broken by water companies.
WildFish believe that this announcement may be a welcome sign that, under the new Chair, Alan Lovell, the EA is focussing on its role as an environmental regulator first and foremost.
In 2021, raw sewage was dumped in UK rivers by water companies for over 3 million hours.
WildFish are campaigning for ...
© Matt Staniek. The image shows Waterhead which is situated on the northern shoreline of Windermere. According to the Big Wi...
WildFish has issued a ‘letter before action’, the first step in potential judicial review proceedings, to the Government, as...
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