Mar. 15 2024
Source Page: Recovered appeal: land bound by Bulbourne Road and Station Road, bisected by Marshcroft Lane, Tring, Hertfordshire (ref: 3309923 - 15 March 2024)Found: by all relevant qualified consultees, including Historic England, the National Trust, the Canal and Rivers
Mentions:
1: Sarah Olney (LD - Richmond Park) into rivers in London, polluting our waterways and damaging our natural environments. - Speech Link
2: Sarah Olney (LD - Richmond Park) Gentleman is absolutely right about sewage discharges. - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Mick Whitley (Lab - Birkenhead) Do the Government agree that the cost of stemming the flow of sewage into our waterways should be met - Speech Link
2: Robbie Moore (Con - Keighley) The Government are absolutely clear that no one should pay extra for water companies to clean up our rivers - Speech Link
3: Stephen Crabb (Con - Preseli Pembrokeshire) their waste water treatment plants, and there is no overall reduction plan for sewage. - Speech Link
4: Toby Perkins (Lab - Chesterfield) Meanwhile, out there in the real world, the recent “State of Our Rivers” report exposed that not one - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Sarah Olney (LD - Richmond Park) On this Conservative Government’s watch, Thames Water has dumped over 72 billion litres of sewage into - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Valerie Vaz (Lab - Walsall South) The water companies pour effluent into our rivers. - Speech Link
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the sewage drainage systems in (a) the UK and (b) York to address (i) demand and (ii) demand when it rains.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The current sewerage system in England, including York, was designed by the Victorians and operates using a combined sewer system, meaning that rainwater from drains and sewage use the same pipes underground. At times of high rainfall the pipes reach capacity, and to stop sewage escaping into homes and streets, the system was designed to discharge to rivers or the sea via storm overflows.
A growing population, an increase in impermeable surfaces and effects of climate change have increased pressure on the system, causing these sewage discharges to happen more frequently.
In September 2023 we published the Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan (SODRP). This plan will drive the largest infrastructure programme in water company history with over £60 billion investment over the next 25 years specifically to reduce sewage discharges from storm overflows.
Furthermore, all water companies including Yorkshire Water have published drainage and wastewater management plans. These plans set out how water companies intend to maintain, improve and extend robust and resilient drainage and wastewater systems over the next 25 years, and have enabled water companies to publicly share how they plan to meet Defra’s SODRP.
Mar. 11 2024
Source Page: Over £180m of investment fast-tracked to prevent sewage spillsFound: Over £180m of investment fast-tracked to prevent sewage spills
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the results of the Storm Overflow Assessment Framework will be published for storm overflows potentially discharging untreated sewage into English rivers; and on what occasions there have been (1) overflows where untreated sewage can be lawfully discharged other than as a result of exceptional rainfall, and (2) overflows where untreated sewage cannot be lawfully discharged other than as a result of exceptional rainfall.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Outcomes of the Storm Overflow Assessment Framework (SOAF) investigations within calendar year are reported through the annual Event Duration Monitoring (EDM) reporting from Water and Sewerage Companies to the Environment Agency at the end of February the following year. The Environment Agency publishes these EDM reports by end of March each year.
The Environment Agency will publish the 2023 EDM report in March 2024 and this will contain outcomes from SOAF investigations completed by December 2023. The Environment Agency will assess data provided by each water company in order to assess whether they are meeting their legal obligations with regards to the discharge of untreated sewage.
Asked by: Lennon, Monica (Scottish Labour - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will detail how it is tackling plastic pollution on beaches.
Answered by Slater, Lorna - Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity
The Scottish Government is tackling marine litter, which often ends up on our beaches, with actions detailed in our Marine Litter Strategy. The Strategy aims to address the amount of litter entering the marine environment, to achieve ecological, economic and social benefits. Our Strategy and action plan was refreshed in September 2022 and focuses on the most problematic types of marine litter including fishing and aquaculture gear, sewage-related debris, and plastic pellets. The Strategy will drive forward our work up to 2027 and co-ordinate the efforts of our stakeholders and partners, working at a national and international level to help tackle this global problem.
The Strategy covers a wide range of actions, which include: improving the management of end of life fishing and aquaculture gear to reduce litter and improve recycling rates, contributing to our circular economy; working with the UK Government and Devolved Governments to put an end to pollution caused by wet wipes containing plastic, with a UK-wide consultation on a ban on the sale of these items held in Autumn 2023; and developing international solutions to prevent plastic pellet pollution, which can be found on our beaches and risk the health of our marine wildlife. In addition to preventative actions, we support removal of beach litter through funding the work of Local Coastal Partnerships and The Scottish Islands Federation, organisations that support and co-ordinate beach cleans and local community engagement. We also fund litter removal offshore through KIMO’s Fishing for Litter scheme, and at our rivers with Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Upstream Battle project, preventing litter travelling downstream and ultimately reaching our seas and beaches.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps is he taking to neutralise sewage in rivers.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Through the Government's expanded Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan, published in September 2023, we have set stringent targets for water companies to reduce their use of storm overflows.
The Plan requires that water companies must significantly reduce harmful pathogens from storm overflows discharging near designated bathing waters, by either: applying disinfection; or reducing the frequency of discharges to meet Environment Agency spill standards by 2035. It also sets out that water companies will only be permitted to discharge from a storm overflow where they can demonstrate that there is no local adverse ecological impact. This target must be achieved for all storm overflows in England by 2050.
Furthermore, new provisions in the Water Industry Act, inserted by the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, will address pollution at source by placing a new statutory duty on water companies in designated catchments to upgrade wastewater treatment works by 2030, reducing the impact of sewage on our waterways and the people who use them.