Water firm bosses could face prison sentences of up to two years for obstructing regulators under new laws proposed by the government to crack down on pollution in English rivers, lakes, and seas.
The Water (Special Measures) Bill, introduced to Parliament on Wednesday, will hand sweeping powers to regulators Ofwat and the Environment Agency to take action against companies found to be harming the environment as well as failing customers.
The government said the current system fails to hold firms accountable for widespread illegality in the sector, pointing to the fact that just three individuals have been criminally prosecuted by the Environment Agency without appeal since the water boards were privatised in 1989.
If the bill is is passed, harsher penalties for law-breaking will be introduced, including jail sentences for executives who fail to cooperate or obstruct Environment Agency and Drinking Water Inspectorate investigations.
Powers to Ban Bonuses
Regulators will be given powers to ban bonus payments to water bosses if they fail to meet standards to protect the environment, consumers, and their company’s finances.The quality of English waterways has plummeted in recent years, with sewage spills contributing to a situation in which no single river is considered to be in good overall health, and beauty spots including Windermere in the Lake District have been polluted.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed said: “The public are furious that in 21st century Britain, record levels of sewage are being pumped into our rivers, lakes, and seas.
“Under this government, water executives will no longer line their own pockets whilst pumping out this filth.
“If they refuse to comply, they could end up in the dock and face prison time.”
Under the proposed laws, regulators will be able to issue stiff automatic fines without having to direct resources to lengthy investigations, as part of the government’s plans for a broader reset of the water sector over this Parliament.
The current maximum fine is just £300, meaning it is not cost effective for the regulator to penalise frequent, more minor offences because of the resources needed to do so.
The firms will also be required to fully monitor all sewage spills and publish real-time data for all emergency overflows, to ensure transparency and alert the public.
Directors Must Show ‘Fitness and Propriety’
Ofwat will also be required to set rules that ensure companies appoint directors and chief executives, and allow them to remain in post, only when they meet certain prescribed standards of “fitness and propriety.”Elsewhere, there will be a new statutory requirement for water companies to publish annual pollution incident reduction plans that outline the steps they are taking to address pollution incidents.
Alan Lovell, chair of the Environment Agency, said the regulator welcomed the government’s ambition to drive through “much-needed” reform.
“The bill will give us, as regulator, more power to protect our precious water quality and resources, hold water companies to account, and ensure the polluter pays,” he said.
David Black, chief executive of Ofwat, said, “This bill strengthens our powers and will help us drive transformative change in the water industry so that it delivers better outcomes for customers and the environment.”
A Water UK spokesman said: “We agree with the government that the water system is broken. Fixing it requires the government to deliver the two things which it has promised: fundamental regulatory reform and speeding up investment.
Call for ‘Real Vigour and Urgency’
Responding to the bill, Charles Watson, chair of River Action, said, “It is obviously a relief to finally see the true horrors of years of incessant pollution and the accompanying abject failure of our regulators to do anything about it being candidly acknowledged by our government of the day.”But he added that the “few one-off actions” announced are not alone going to fix the underlying causes of water pollution.
“It is imperative that this commitment to supplement today’s small steps with much more fundamental action is now brought forward with real vigour and urgency,” he said.
The Conservatives claimed Labour were attempting to pass off measures implemented under the previous government as their own, pointing to a ban on bonuses for water company bosses whose companies who commit serious breaches as an example.
Shadow environment minister Robbie Moore said, “It was the Conservatives that introduced 100 percent monitoring for storm overflows and set out a plan to transform our infrastructure to ensure safer, cleaner waters.”
Liberal Democrat environment spokesman Tim Farron said the government’s plan “simply doesn’t look up to scratch to tackling the sewage scandal.”
He added, “This looks to be a job half done by the government, now Liberal Democrat MPs will push them to go much further and faster in ending this scandal once and for all.”
