Shropshire MP welcomes change to allow river pollution fines to go direct to eco projects
An MP has welcomed the use of fines paid by water companies to go straight into environmental and water quality improvement projects.
Fines levied by regulator Ofwat and the Environment Agency had been sent straight into the Treasury's coffers but a tweak in the law this week means that the money will go to environmental measures instead.
And it is not an insignificant amount of money: some £141m has been raised by fines on polluting water companies since 2015.
South Shropshire MP Philip Dunne says it is a breakthrough for river quality.
"I am delighted that a measure that colleagues and I have called for was yesterday formally adopted by the Government which will help to clean up the UK's rivers, seas, and waterways," said Mr Dunne.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is set to get the fines money. And it has announced a new measure that could support local initiatives in Shropshire and across the country to tackle pollution using money raised from fines paid by water companies.
Mr Dunne said: "For too long these companies and others have contributed to shocking levels of water pollution and have largely got away with it. Refunnelling record levels of fines to improve nature – the ultimate victim of poor water quality – sends a clear signal that the polluter should pay to clean up the mess."
But Mr Dunne warns that there are no quick fixes. Much of the sewerage network dates back to Victorian times and in heavy rainfall the drains mix sewage and floodwater which can overflow the system and end up in the river.
"Our Victorian sewerage infrastructure is ageing and not designed to cope with today’s demand. But there’s far more we can do to clean up our rivers and seas, and I’m pleased to see the practical proposals on which I have been working adopted by Government to accelerate our progress toward resolving these long-term challenges."
Since 2015, the Environment Agency has concluded 56 prosecutions against water and sewerage companies, securing fines of over £141m.
At present, money from fines imposed by Ofwat and those arising from Environment Agency prosecutions is returned to the Treasury from where it has not emerged to invest in water quality.
Under the new plans, funds raised from fines will go to Defra and will be invested directly back into environmental and water quality improvement projects to help fix the source of pollution.
The government has toughened up fines against polluting water firms by expanding the use of, and raising the cap on, the civil Variable Monetary Payments that the Environment Agency can issue, meaning sanctions can be imposed more often without lengthy and costly court cases. Mr Dunne says this is expected to see a sharp increase in the millions raised by fines and sanctions.
He said: "The new measure announced yesterday will ensure that the millions of pounds raised from these fines will be re-invested in schemes that benefit our natural environment, such as creating wetlands, re-vegetating riverbanks and reconnecting meanders to the main channel of rivers under the new government plans.
"This is another welcome move from this Conservative government on rivers, which has done more than any other to tackle water pollution. There is still a long way to go to ensure our rivers are as clean as we would like, but this is another step along this path."
