The Environment Agency’s ‘Regulating for people, the environment and growth, 2021’ report has been published and highlights the organisation’s approach to regulation and the work it is doing to ensure regulation meets their ambition to create better places. In the Foreword by the Chief Executive of the Agency, the stark message was that in 2021, […]
A new project to create a new channel of the River Thames and restore long-lost wildlife habitat has been completed. The 450-metre watercourse in West Oxfordshire bypasses a manmade weir and will enable fish to swim along a 30km stretch of the Thames and spawn for the first time in more than a century. […]
Sir James Bevan, CEO at the Environment Agency, has told the House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee that “population growth, climate change and public awareness have led us to where we are” with regard to ongoing problems with storm overflow sewage discharges. The Environment Agency Chief was appearing alongside Alan Lovell, Chair, Environment Agency […]
A water company has been hit with combined fines of over £1.2m for pollution incidents in East England, the Environment Agency has reported. Anglian Water was fined in two separate court cases after causing four pollution incidents in watercourses as a result of blockages and broken infrastructure. The water company was ordered to pay £871,000 […]
New mapping tools from the Environment Agency and Natural England which reveal the extent of seagrass and saltmarsh habitats around England for the first time, are now live. The maps will provide valuable information for the management of these crucial blue carbon habitats, helping to drive forward restoration projects. In a release from […]
The Environment Secretary has announced that the potential civil penalty is to rise from £250,000 to up to £250 million to help bring quicker enforcement action against water companies for causing pollution. The Minister will bring forward proposals to raise the civil penalty for water companies who pollute the environment by 1,000-fold. The […]
The Environment Agency and Northumberland Rivers Trust have relocated hundreds of native crayfish from the abundant populations found in the River Wansbeck in Morpeth, to six refuge sites in North Northumberland. These refuges, known as ‘Ark’ sites, give the crayfish new safe places to breed and build their numbers, ensuring several populations remain if disaster strikes […]
Testing of rivers in England has fallen dramatically in the past 10 years, with experts warning it leaves a vacuum of knowledge about the effects of pollution. Environment Agency data shows its river testing has fallen from nearly 100,000 samples a year in 2012 to 41,519 in 2021 – the lowest level of sampling in 20 years […]