Sewage: Waste Disposal
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to increase the number of prosecutions for sewage dumping.
Answered by Emma Hardy
The Water (Special Measures) Act provides the most significant increase in enforcement powers in a decade, giving regulators the teeth they need to take tougher action against water companies. The Act ensures courts can include imprisonment for any individual in cases where the regulators’ investigations have been obstructed.
The Environment Agency already has powers to prosecute company directors and other senior officers under Regulation 41 of the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016, whilst courts have powers to fine individuals within companies who are convicted of polluting our waterways.
The Environment Agency has also increased water company inspections to 10,000 per year from April 2025, as part of the government’s wider focus to hold companies to account and improve our water environment.
Since July 2024, the Environment Agency has launched 87 investigations and 6 prosecutions against water companies, with fines totalling over £2 million. It has also accepted 24 Enforcement Undertakings since the election, with financial contributions totalling over £8.5 million.
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