Water companies are “breaking the law” when they use a secret network of pipes to dump sewage in rivers, the new Environment Secretary has warned as she vowed to double down on efforts to hold polluting firms and their bosses to account.
Speaking to The i Paper in her first newspaper interview since being promoted to the Cabinet, Emma Reynolds admitted that voters remain “frustrated and angry” about the state of the Britain’s waterways.
She promised to take action in the short term to crack down on companies which have been behaving badly, while working to build a more sustainable system over time with a new regulator.
Reynolds also pledged that expensive “bat tunnels” will never again be allowed to hobble major building projects despite the concerns of some nature lovers – and called on Labour MPs to stop “sniping from the sidelines” ahead of the party conference which kicks off in Liverpool this weekend.
The 47-year-old MP for Wycombe spent nine years in the Commons during Labour’s time in opposition, but lost her seat in 2019 before returning to Parliament at last year’s general election. She was a Treasury minister for 14 months and was then given the job of Environment Secretary at the reshuffle in early September triggered by Angela Rayner’s resignation – and now heads up the first ever all-female team of ministers in any Whitehall department.
Reynolds praised The i Paper for our push to Save Britain’s Rivers, saying: “Let me congratulate you on your campaign. I think your readers, and people across the country, are rightly angry that our waterways, our rivers, lakes and seas, are being polluted to the extent that they are. And really, I hate to say it, but it’s a bit of a metaphor of the last government. I mean, they absolutely failed to get a grip on this problem.”
This newspaper’s campaign has called for a roadmap to healthier rivers; new targets to eliminate sewage spills in high-priority areas by 2030; tougher regulation on firms; 100 clean bathing spots by 2030; and funding to help farmers improve water quality, with robust penalties if they fail.
Since taking power, the Labour Government has passed legislation toughening the penalties applied to individuals and companies responsible for polluting waterways, including a ban on bonuses for senior executives. Reynolds said that a new Water Bill likely to be published next year will go further by overhauling the entire regulatory system.
In recent weeks, it has been reported that water firms may have been using a little-known network of 7,000 “emergency overflow” pipes to pump sewage in to rivers, lakes and seas – a mechanism intended to be deployed only in serious emergencies.
Emma Reynolds promised to have a ‘very open relationship’ with farmers (Photo: Jason Alden/The i Paper)Asked whether criminal proceedings could be brought against those engaging in this behaviour, Reynolds said: “In the first instance, the Environment Agency is investigating all the water companies that have been misusing these permits and, frankly, breaking the law. We need to make sure that they are held to account for that. I will need to consider carefully in the round what we do about this specific issue, but also more generally how we ensure that the water industry is not polluting our waterways.”
She refused to commit to cutting household water bills in the long run, but promised that extra payments from consumers to their providers would be ring-fenced for upgrades to water infrastructure – pointing out that it is more than 30 years since a new reservoir was built in Britain.
No more ‘bat tunnels’
Another thorny political issue covered by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is farming, with Reynolds charged with rebuilding relations with the sector after the controversial decision to impose inheritance tax on family farms which were previously exempt.
She promised to have a “very open relationship” with farmers, adding: “The previous government didn’t have a great relationship with the farming sector either, because the farming sector felt that they sold them down the river – no pun intended – on some of the trade deals that they struck, particularly with Australia and New Zealand.”
Defra also plays a key role in the Government’s infrastructure reforms, which are intended to shift the balance of planning rules so that environmental concerns are used less often to deny permission to important projects or add costs – such as the notorious “bat tunnel” built as part of the HS2 rail line to protect animals which live in the area near the new track.
“The bat tunnel has become totemic,” Reynolds said. “I think we don’t want to be spending £100m on a bat tunnel. I think that is an uncontroversial thing to say. Most people would agree. And this isn’t just the developers, by the way, I’ve had a round-table with the main environmental NGOs, and the current system and the status quo is not really serving anyone particularly well.” Future infrastructure projects will be subject to a more streamlined regulatory process in future, she promised, with officials engaging with developers at an early stage to identify possible blockages.
The Labour conference which runs from Sunday to Wednesday comes at a time when the party is languishing in the polls and MPs are increasingly pushing a change of direction, with some even contemplating a move against Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership. Reynolds, a Starmer loyalist, insisted that the Government had had “a very tough inheritance” but admitted that “it’s been a tough year and a bit” despite what she said were policy successes such as primary school breakfast clubs and a strong relationship with the US.
Read Next
square SUSTAINABILITY ExclusiveData centre pollution task force is yet to hold a single meeting
Read MoreShe added: “Maybe I’m a bit boring, but I believe in just getting on and doing the job. I just want to get on and do the job that I’ve been given and do it to the best of my ability and deliver the best for the British people… I’d ask the public to bear with us, but also I think our party needs to rally around and make sure that we forge ahead with our plan to renew Britain, rather than some of them sniping from the sidelines.”
Asked if that was a reference to Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester who has been setting out an alternative policy platform and refusing to bat away suggestions he wants to take over from Starmer, Reynolds concluded: “I think the mayors and the backbenchers and the frontbenchers all need to pull together. We are one Labour movement. We are one Labour Party. I waited for 14 years for this opportunity, and I don’t think we should squander a moment.”
Hence then, the article about government warning to water firms breaking law with new sewage dumping tactic was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Government warning to water firms ‘breaking law’ with new sewage dumping tactic )
Also on site :
- Police respond to incident at property in Dudley as residents 'spot armed police' in street
- Sinkhole on East Franklin Street Closes Lanes; Chapel Hill Urges for Detours
- Fire crews and Hazmat teams responded to fire involving lithium ion batteries at Higuera Street facility