UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Steve Reed, UK environment secretary, challenges Yorkshire anglers’ river cleanup win, drawing criticism over Labour’s pledge to address water pollution.
On Tuesday, Mr Steve’s legal team will argue in the court of appeal that tackling pollution in individual rivers and streams is impractical and unworkable.
Anglers argued that the government and the Environment Agency had neglected to uphold their legal responsibilities in safeguarding Costa Beck, a trout stream near Pickering severely affected by sewage and fish farm runoff.
NGO criticizes Reed’s legal action over river cleanup
According to Penny Gane of Fish Legal, Reed’s move to continue with the legal action went against Labour’s stated promise to improve river quality.
Mr Gane said,
“This new government came into power promising that cleaning up our rivers, lakes and seas was a top priority. The fact that it is fighting our angler members in court to avoid doing the hard work necessary to bring about any improvements in the health of Britain’s rivers flies in the face of that commitment.”
He added this case will reveal if the new administration is serious about its promise to change or making empty commitments. There has been no indication that they plan to address industries that pollute our waterways.
Government says river clean-up plans are unworkable
The government will claim that implementing specific measures for cleaning up each river, lake, and stream, as required by the Water Framework Directive, is not administratively possible.
Only 15% of England’s rivers meet the required ecological health standards, reflecting the severe pollution from sewage and industrial runoff.
The Water Framework Directive, part of British law, mandates that all water bodies achieve good ecological status or the potential for it by 2027 in a push for river clean-up.
What did the Pickering Fishery Association say?
Martin Smith from the Pickering Fishery Association stated,
“When the high court ordered the Environment Agency to go back to the drawing board on its plans to improve the Costa Beck, we thought it would be a turning point.”
He added that our angling club, which has been working for years to restore fish to Costa Beck, finds it absurd that the body responsible for protecting the river needs to be taken to court to take even the most basic action.
Pickering Fishery wins Costa Beck court battle
Following a landmark court victory by the Pickering Fishery Association, the former Conservative administration launched the appeal against the government and the Environment Agency.
The judgment ruled that the plans proposed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Environment Agency for restoring Costa Beck were insufficiently detailed and lacked solid action to make a difference. This ruling came after over ten years of efforts by the Pickering Fishery Association to hold the agency accountable for the river’s restoration.
High Court ruling on River Wye Pollution
The previous Tory government successfully defended itself in a legal battle filed by environmental campaigners regarding pollution in the River Wye.
In May 2024, the High Court ruled that the Environment Agency and the UK government were properly enforcing laws regarding farming practices that pollute the River Wye. River Action, an environmental group, argued that the agency wasn’t doing enough to control farmers’ use of chicken manure.
Yorkshire Water fined for pollution
In August last year, Yorkshire Water faced a £47 million fine for releasing untreated wastewater into rivers, which underscores the persistent pollution issues in the region. Investigations showed that the company discharged raw sewage for an average of seven hours each day in 2023, prompting serious health concerns among local communities.
New anti-pollution legislation
The UK government is proposing new laws to ensure water company executives face consequences for pollution. Under the new rules, executives could be sent to prison and limit their bonuses if their firms violate environmental laws.