Today the government publishes new legislation

Is this enough?

Does it restore the chronic under funding of the regulator and consequent “hands off” attitude which is in danger of becoming institutionalised?

Does anyone really expect a water boss to be jailed? – Owl

Water bosses face up to two years in prison if they repeatedly obstruct investigations into the pollution of the UK’s rivers and seas, under tough new measures to crackdown on the sewage crisis.

Richard Vaughan inews.co.uk

Ministers will publish new legislation on Thursday that will hand regulators sweeping new powers to bring criminal charges against water executives if they are found to be deliberately obstructing and failing to cooperate with any investigation into a water company.

The proposals are contained in the new Water (Special Measures) Bill, which will also hand the Environment Agency (EA) and the Drinking Water Inspectorate the ability to ban the payment of bonuses to water executives if they fail to tackle sewage dumping.

Under the tougher new measures, water companies will face automatic fines, similar to how speeding tickets are issued, if newly required real time monitors pick up any illegal spills from emergency outlets.

The bill will also lower the burden of proof in civil cases to allow the EA to bring criminal charges against water bosses more easily, which would amount in fines.

Crucially, the proposed laws will also ensure that water companies will foot the bill for any costs of investigations if they are found guilty of any wrongdoing, which officials believe will free resources for the regulators.

The laws will also tweak arrangements if a water company goes bust and falls into what is called “special administration”, where the Government steps in until a new operator is found.

Changes under the bill will mean if the likes of Thames Water goes bust and is sold for a fraction of the Government’s costs, the Secretary of State will be able to enforce any shortfalls be made up through higher water bills.

The bill is the second step in a three-part plan from the new government to regain control over the sewage crisis. The first was announcing a reset in relations with the water industry, setting out how the new water price settlement would require ring-fenced spending on infrastructure from the sector.

The third will come later in the parliament with further legislation that will seek to reform the wider water sector beyond sewage pollution, including improving water resilience, speeding up infrastructure delivery, and boosting upgrades.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed said the measures were needed to “end the disgraceful behaviour of water companies and their bosses”.

Mr Reed told i: “There’s been little accountability for the illegal sewage dumping that’s killing our waterways. That all changes today.

“The threat of a two-year prison sentence will focus water bosses’ minds on cleaning up our rivers, lakes and seas.

“Regulators’ new powers to issue severe automatic fines for illegal sewage discharges will stop companies treating pollution as a cost of doing business. The regulator will also be able to claw back the cost of prosecution from offending company so they can pump the money back into further enforcement.”

The action comes after years of under-investment by the privately-run water firms combined with ageing water infrastructure, a growing population and more extreme weather that has led to the quality of England’s rivers, lakes and oceans plummeting in recent years.

Sewage spills have contributed to a situation in which no single river in England is considered to be in good overall health, and beauty spots including Windermere in the Lake District have been polluted. Agricultural pollution has also played a significant part in the damage to waterways.

Some water utilities are also creaking under high levels of debt or face criticism over dividends to shareholders and executive bonuses.

The situation has prompted i‘s Save Britain’s Rivers campaign, which before the election called on the Government to sign up to a manifesto of five pledges in order to help the country’s rivers recover from decades of pollution.

It urges ministers to overhaul Ofwat and provide more funding for the Environment Agency to allow it to do its job properly.

Some of Labour’s pledges to date align with i‘s manifesto, including plans to introduce tougher penalties and restrict bonuses. However, the Government is yet to meet all i‘s demands, including increased funding for the regulator and farmers.

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.

New sewage laws

What has been announced?

A new bill has been published that will allow regulators, including the Environment Agency and the Drinking Water Inspectorate, to hold the chief executives of water companies criminally liable amounting to possible imprisonment for persistent failures.

What will amount to jail time?

Under the plans, water bosses will be held personally criminally liable if they are repeatedly found to be failing to cooperate and obstructing an investigation by the regulators.

How does the law operate currently?

The Government says since privatisation a “justice gap” has emerged when it comes to criminal liability. As it stands, if a water company executive fails to cooperate by providing data or materials as part of an investigation, the maximum that an executive could receive was a fine, with the maximum at around £300.

How common is this?

The Government believes there is widespread illegality, but due to the shortcomings in the existing laws, only three people have faced criminal prosecution since privatisation was introduced.

What else is in the legislation?

The bill will hand the regulators powers to ban the payment of any bonus to water bosses to ensure that water companies fit real time monitors on all sewage outlets, including emergency outlets, with automatic fines, similar to speeding tickets, issued if any illegal sewage dumps are recorded.