Brexit law change could restrict access to UK river pollution data

The legal right to access environmental information used by activists and researchers to uncover the illegal release of untreated sewage into UK rivers could be lost as part of the UK’s legal separation from the European Union. Without these Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs), it could be much harder to hold water companies and government agencies accountable, campaigners warn.

“Public citizens have a right to understand what is happening in their local environment, and many of our delegates want local data on their local sewage discharges to be submitted to the EIR. Relying on Britain’s 400 rivers and coastal locations. “Repealing the EIR will be very problematic. Towards transparency he should not take three steps back, but one step further.”

The EIR is similar to the UK’s Freedom of Information Act, which allows anyone to request information held by public authorities. Importantly, the environmental version also requires some private companies, such as water companies, to meet the demands.This was revealed only in 2015, Environmental group Fish Legal has filed a lawsuit in the European Court of Justice after water companies Yorkshire Water and United Utilities refused to disclose data on the release of raw sewage into water bodies.

Fish Legal won the case after arguing that water companies are public bodies and legally obligated to release environmental information through the EIR. The ruling meant that water companies were forced to release their data. “It’s been a long, hard battle,” says her Penny Gane of Fish Legal. “I never thought I would need to revisit.”

The EIR also helped bring widespread public attention to sewage overflow in 2021. Peter Hammond, a retired mathematics professor at University College London, has been able to reveal details about the discharge of untreated sewage by water companies into widespread British rivers. Data released under the law showed that untreated sewage discharges by water companies were 10 times higher than the UK’s Environment Agency had previously estimated, he said. “Without EIR, I wouldn’t have been able to do the work I’ve been doing,” says Hammond.

However, the EIR’s existence is now threatened by pending EU bills currently passing through the UK Parliament, with thousands of EU-derived legislation set to expire at the end of 2023, unless specifically maintained in UK law. will be Gane said the implementation of his EU-wide directive on access to environmental information would not allow the EIR to go unnoticed by officials who have the enormous task of sifting through the various laws included in the bill. I am afraid that

“There’s a lot of uncertainty in the actual bill itself. I don’t know what they’re thinking behind closed doors,” she says. “There’s no transparency on how this process works, but it’s moving very quickly.”

Other environmental groups are also concerned about the loss of this important tool. Rivers Trust’s Tessa Wardley said: “Retained EU legislation could undermine our legal framework and affect the health of our rivers in the future.” increase. Losing the EIR would weaken access to the data for third parties to hold polluters accountable if governments and regulators fail to enforce their obligations, she says.

The EIR may not be the only casualty of Brexit untangling. “The Environmental Information Regulation is he one of thousands of laws that are essential in protecting our environment,” says Sandy Luk of the Marine Conservation Society. The sheer amount of work involved in enforcing her EU bills retained means there could be negative consequences. she said: It weakens the existing legal framework. ”

“The fisheries industry supports calls to protect key legislation threatened by retained EU legislation protecting the quality of rivers, seas and drinking water, including the Environmental Information Regulation,” it said. A spokesperson for industry group Water UK said: “The water company is committed to full transparency regardless of the government’s decision on the bill.”

A spokesman for the government’s Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: “It’s clear that any overhaul of EU law that remains in place will not come at the expense of the UK’s already high standards.” “As with all EU law in place, the accessibility of environmental information is carefully considered.”

But Gane says he wants more than just politeness from Defra on the matter. “We now have a wave of support and will do everything we can to ensure that the right to access environmental information is protected.”