20 March 2025
Responding to the OEP launching an investigation into possible Defra and Environment Agency failures to comply with the Water Framework Directive Regulations, one of the key laws in place to protect water quality, Richard Benwell, CEO of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said:
"Too often, environmental targets are announced with a shout, but die with a whimper. It's no secret that meeting the legal target for rivers to be in good condition by 2027 is now almost an impossibility. But that doesn't mean the law should be ignored. Government must pull no punches in cutting pollution and restoring rivers by the legal deadline.
"We welcome the OEP's investigation, and expect that it will reveal years of failure by successive governments to take the action needed to clean up English waters. Now it's up to this Government to kick regulators into action, multiply public and private investment in clean water, and structure the incentives and enforcement needed to clean up agriculture, chemical pollution, and the water sector in line with the law."
"The lack of a long-term target for overall water quality after 2027 is also a massive gap in English environmental law. Defra should work quickly to set a new overarching target, incorporating new pollutants as well as public health objectives, with regular milestones so that action can never again be put off again until it's too late."
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