Emma Howard Boyd, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, has been sharing her thoughts on the current crisis. She talks about how the Agency is delivering critical services, managing waste and flood risk, regulating hazardous sites and continuing to focus on pollution, including to water. Meanwhile, on the 22nd April the Environment Agency will be […]
The government has published a summary of responses to the recent Environment Agency consultation on changes to the water company drought plan guideline (WC DPG) and the new and updated supplementary guidance. The EA will amend the guidance to: emphasise the need for water companies to engage with their customers as early as possible as […]
Ofwat has published its new strategy ‘Time to Act, Together’, setting out the regulator’s ambition for the water sector. It marks a shifting approach to regulation, based on 3 goals: To transform water companies’ performance To drive water companies to meet long-term challenges through increased collaboration and partnerships For water companies to provide greater public […]
Bank of England boss Mark Carney has told global banks they cannot ignore climate change dangers. Writing in The Guardian, Carney and François Villeroy de Galhau, the governor of the Banque de France, said financial regulators, banks and insurers around the world had to “raise the bar” to avoid catastrophe. The heads of two of the […]
From containment news, originally printed in Famers Guardian Jill Crawford, who works for the UK Environmental Law Association, sounded the alarm at a Westminster Energy, Environment and Transport Forum (WEETF) event in London last month. The EA has seen its environmental protection budget slashed by 55 per cent since 2010/11, from £113m to £50m in 2016/17. “It is vital our […]
Following Michael Gove’s recent appearance before the Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee, it seems Defra is to assess its arms-length agencies after Brexit in a move that could see the Environment Agency merged with Natural England. Environment secretary Michael Gove said that Defra’s director general for strategy delivery Shaun Gallagher would lead the review. […]
Ofwat has announced funding for a water Regulators’ Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development (RAPID). “This team will ensure a smooth regulatory path for strategic water transfers and joint infrastructure projects. RAPID will bring together staff from Ofwat, the Environment Agency, and Drinking Water Inspectorate into a new team. It will follow a range of projects […]
The Environment Agency’s head honcho has warned that the UK’s biggest flood risk, surface water, is growing. Reported in Water Briefing, Sir James Bevan told delegates at the CIWEM Surface Water Management Conference that surface water flooding threatens more people and properties than any other form of flood risk. Over 3 million properties in England […]