17 Jul 2017

Environment Agency   Last updated:    29 June 2017, see all updates How to assess the impact of your activity in estuarine (transitional) and coastal waters for the Water Framework Directive (WFD). The guidance is called Clearing the Waters for All. Contents Carry out your WFD assessment in stages Screening: exclude activities from scoping Scoping: identify risks to receptors […]

17 Jul 2017

Funding of £4.3m is to be shared between projects aimed at regenerating Scottish coastal communities. The money from the Coastal Communities Fund will go towards 18 schemes designed to boost tourism, create jobs and grow the economy. Among the grants is: £300,000 towards 64 miles of coastal paths at the Rhins of Galloway in south […]

17 Jul 2017

The Government have published the Brexit Repeal Bill but critics still still point to the   lack of critical details. Interestingly Michael Gove has been having a round of meetings with marine and environmental folk and spoke to a recent meeting of the Green Alliance where some notable constructive statements were made. Commentary below: European Union […]

12 Jul 2017

Welsh joins the trend to commit to 100% renewable energy (continue) 100 multinationals commit to 100 per cent renewable power   BusinessGreen RE100 initiative celebrates milestone with confirmation that Blue Chip firms are on track to create demand for renewable power equivalent to the total electricity demand of Poland. The RE100 initiative has confirmed that over […]

12 Jul 2017

Ofwat and commentators are suggesting that this will be an especially tough periodic review process, with less ‘easy money’ to be made. The Ofwat  methodology sets out: our expectations and requirements for companies preparing their business plans to meet the needs of their customers from 2020 to 2025 and beyond; how these expectations form the […]

12 Jul 2017

Shades of Orwellian double-speak and an interesting contradiction. How can ‘good progress’ be equated with the first rise in incidents since 2012  – to 1902 incidents – (an increase of 160 pollution incidents) from the nine major water companies? The EA’s report found the majority of the UK’s water companies achieved close to or exceeded […]

12 Jul 2017

The Environment Agency has published plans ordering Southern Water to reduce its abstraction from the River Test by 40 per cent. New licence revisions will mean the level of abstraction permitted will be cut from 136 to 80 million litres per day. Abstraction will also be restricted when river flow drops below 355 million litres per […]

12 Jul 2017

Creating a pioneering model of urban river stewardship in Sheffield Helen Batt, Environment Agency 30 June 2017 After the floods in 2007 in Sheffield the Environment Agency undertook a comprehensive programme of works to clear the River Don of tree growth, vegetation and debris. Both eyewitness accounts and subsequent modelling demonstrated the capacity of the channel […]