ACA Questions Environment Agency on the hand over of pollution monitoring to misleading water companies

Given today's announcement that Severn Trent Water is facing a record £35.8m fine for deliberately providing false information to the regulator and the fact that Southern Water was fined £20.3m for similar offences earlier this year, the Anglers' Conservation Association has expressed its amazement that the Environment Agency is pressing ahead with plans to put water companies in charge of monitoring their own environmental performance.

The Environment Agency has recently consulted on its Operator and Pollution Risk Appraisal (OPRA) and Operator Self Monitoring (OSM) proposals and reported the findings in a document entitled "greener business, healthier environment: consultation on regulating discharges to water". The essence of these proposals is that operators of sewage treatment and other potentially polluting works will now monitor their own performance rather than the Environment Agency.

Not only was there widespread opposition amongst environmental NGOs to these proposals, but the water companies themselves seemed concerned that they would be saddled with additional costs. The ACA was particularly concerned that water companies could very easily cover up pollution incidents for which they might otherwise be fined by the Environment Agency and/or face civil claims from the ACA's team of in-house lawyers for damage to its members' fisheries.

The Agency's response to these concerns was to claim blandly that: "we have taken these concerns and comments on board and are now confident that we have a scheme that will allow us to regulate in a fairer, more effective way." The ACA does not share that confidence.

Mark Lloyd, Executive Director of the Anglers' Conservation Association said: "These plans - which seem to us as naive as expecting Premiership footballers to admit to their own fouls - are supported by none of the environmental NGOs and indeed few of the water companies themselves. The proposals seem to be driven by a desire to cut the EA's costs of regulation rather than to stop pollution getting into our water environment. Given that two water companies have this year been fined for deliberately providing false information to regulators, is it really sensible to entrust them now with monitoring their own environmental performance?"

Copies of the Agency's Q&A document on OPRA and OSM and its response to the consultation are available on request as PDFs. The ACA's original response to the consultation is also available.

The Environment Agency asked for views on two proposals, which are part of its modernising water quality regulation programme. The first proposal is to apply its Operator and Pollution Risk Appraisal (OPRA) system to regulating discharge consents issued under the Water Resources Act 1991. OPRA is part of a nationally recognised system of assessing and managing environmental risk. The second proposal asked for views on changing the way the EA assess if discharges are compliant with their discharge consents. The EA asked a series of 16 questions throughout the consultation document. The formal consultation took place from 5 December 2006 until 27 February 2007. The consultation response is not yet on the Environment Agency's website, but is available from the ACA.

The Anglers' Conservation Association (ACA) The ACA was established in 1948 to fight for anglers' interests and to use the law to combat water pollution and other damage to the water environment. The ACA responded with detailed opposition to the initial consultation on OPRA and has made its views clear in two meetings with senior staff at the EA. It is not satisfied that its concerns have been taken on board. The ACA last year settled 34 civil claims for damage to its members' fishing. Many of its claims are against water companies.

More at: http://www.a-c-a.org

Click here to see our 270+ page Carp Fishing e-book

ACA Questions Environment Agency on the hand over of pollution monitoring to misleading water companies

Julian Grattidge