20 Sep 2023
As England enters the autumn, the National Drought Group met to reiterate the importance of all sectors continuing to plan and invest for future droughts. Experts are pushing for more investment now to ensure England is in the best possible position ahead of future droughts, the National Drought Group heard last week (13 September). The […]
13 Sep 2023
The government’s environmental watchdog, the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP), has identified possible failures to comply with environmental law by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Environment Agency and Ofwat in relation to the regulation of combined sewer overflows (CSOs). The failures relate to a possible misinterpretation of the law, which […]
30 Aug 2023
An investigation by Unearthed reveals How England’s water companies struggled in last summer’s heatwaves Water supplies ran so low during last summer’s drought that England’s environmental regulator warned that companies might break the law to keep the taps running, documents obtained by Unearthed reveal. The internal briefings – obtained under freedom of information laws – […]
23 Aug 2023
The Guardian reports that the nationwide Water Framework Directive (WFD) annual health check of England’s water bodies which used to take place annually, will now take six years to complete, prompting anger from campaigners and politicians, as public alarm grows over the state of the nation’s rivers and coasts. It says that, in 2019, the […]
23 Aug 2023
The Environment Agency has launched a consultation on changes to variable monetary penalties – financial penalties that can be imposed for certain environmental offences. The changes will scrap the £250,000 cap on civil penalties and significantly broaden their scope to target a wider range of environmental offences. New enforcement powers will allow the Environment Agency to apply penalties […]
15 Aug 2023
A coalition of 15 leading environmental groups has written to the Government urging it not to delay or cut back on environmental spend at PR24 to improve water quality. The organisations include the Wildlife Trusts, Rivers Trust, Surfers against Sewage, RSPB England, Friends of the Earth and Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust. They were responding to […]
09 Aug 2023
The Environment Agency (EA) has published its strategy for safe and sustainable sludge use. The strategy sets out the purpose, principles and priorities for how the EA will enable safe and sustainable sludge use on land. It sets out how the EA will: enable safe and sustainable sludge use on land modernise and clarify the […]
26 Jul 2023
Information from the Environment Agency shows that the majority of designated bathing waters across Devon and Cornwall have a good or excellent rating for water quality. However, the Environment Agency’s Swimfo bathing water website advises against bathing at several locations. It is officially the summer holidays, and as millions of people flock to the coast, the Environment […]
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