In Yorkshire there is a small stream
called the Costa Beck, home to the Pickering Fishing Association (PFA).
Lovely though it is, the Beck also has the misfortune to be home to the
Pickering sewage treatment works which in 2019 discharged 400 times into the
river, followed by another 250 discharges in 2020. These, along with other
failures, meant the Costa was failing for fish under the Water Framework
Directive regulations, regulations based on 2017 legislation that is
intended to protect our rivers. This fail status was enough to spur the EA
into action who, after consultation with the PFA, came up with a plan to
save the Costa Beck.
Hurrah, you might think but the
Pickering anglers felt differently seeing the EA consultation as window
dressing and the subsequent plan as a box ticking exercise. The High Court
judge agreed characterising the approach as one of “smoke and mirrors”,
noting that the EA programme of measures could not reasonably be
expected to achieve the stated environmental objectives. As the angling
club argued, the EA was in effect planning to fail. It is thought that the
important Pickering ruling will open the door to similar challenges across
the country.
So, what is the answer to the
question? Do we pillory Garth and his water company bosses? Of course, we
do. Sure, they are for the most part acting within the letter of the
regulations but as to the spirit of those same regulations, they are,
frankly, taking the p**s. You and I, though occasionally people like
the Pickering crew, can do little about water companies but the Environment
Agency certainly can. It has 12,000 employees, a budget of £1.3 billion and
a raft of legislative powers that would make a dictatorship blush.
|