The plague of the homies: EA officials were confined to
their homes as visiting river pollution incidents was deemed too dangerous
in the early months of Covid. Turning your money into EA money: fishing
licence fees were retained by the EA even though fishing was banned by law
during lockdown. Death of common sense: weed booms were not put in place as
EA officials failed to work out a way of working outside whilst 2m apart
when construction sites were fully operational. Infestation of sewage: water
companies use rivers as open sewers.
I’m sure, given a bit of time I, or you, could fill up the
other six but let us suffice with the latest bit of EA madness when
they announced on Monday (6/September) that water companies would be
allowed to discharge effluent that has not been treated to levels
stipulated in their environmental permits if they’re unable to get the
chemicals needed to treat the sewage due to “the UK’s new relationship with
the EU”, “coronavirus” or “other unavoidable supply chain failures”.
Don’t think (or hope) this waiver applies just to the lowest
risk waste; both A (low risk) and the B (medium risk) discharges will be
allowed with only C (high risk) exempted. However, I’m sure the cynic in
many of us might well wonder about this tiered system allowing the
possibility for comingling.
Now, if we had a water industry with an exemplary record you
might just say, OK exceptional times/ exceptional measures. But we all know
from the recent Southern Water fines, BBC Panorama investigation and the
400,000 discharges that annually ride a cart and horses through the current
permitting scheme that the water treatment companies will likely grasp this
legitimisation of many already dubious practices with both hands.
Perhaps what worries me most is the open-ended nature and
inherent vagueness of this supply chain waiver. There is no end or review
date. It is essentially self-certificated. Harm to water, air, soil,
plants or animal is only limited to being ‘significant’. And towards the
end of the new regulations, it becomes clear that the water companies will
also be able to apply the waiver for not just supply chain failures but
also staff absences and contractors being unavailable.
Maybe I’m being overly paranoid but it does seem that the EA
has been taken hostage by the very industry it is meant to police.
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