Parliament has been considering the Environment Bill.
Environment Bill - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament
The Bill passed the House of Commons, went to the House of Lords which proposed a number of amendments. The Bill then returned to the Commons for consideration of Lords amendments.
The Commons considered the amendments on 20 October and returned them to the Lords with disagreements - the beginning of the so-called "ping pong" process.
The Commons debate
is reported by Hansard - Environment Bill - Wednesday 20 October 2021 - Hansard - UK ParliamentOne amendment - referred to as Lords Amendment 45 - was concerned with the discharge of sewage due to storm overflows. It was a lengthy amendment seeking to insert a new Chapter into the Water Industry Act 1991. The amendment put forward by the Lords may be read here -
The Lords amendment would have imposed on "sewerage undertakers" a duty to take all reasonable steps to ensure untreated sewage is not discharged from storm overflows. This proposed duty was set out in Lines 7 to 14 of the amendment.
The government considered this duty to be unnecessary and asked the Commons to omit it. The Minister (Rebecca Pow MP) said that to get rid of or eliminate storm sewage overflows would cost between £150bn to £660 bn.
The Minister added that the Draft Policy Statement for OFWAT expects it "to incentivise water companies to significantly reduce the frequency and volume of sewage discharges from storm overflows.
The Commons agreed to amendment 45 (268 to 204) but with the omission of the proposed duty relating to storm overflows.
What remains from Amendment 45 is a duty placed on the Secretary of State to prepare a storm overflow discharge reduction plan and to publish progress reports as the plan is implemented. There will also be duties to report placed on sewage undertakers and the Environment Agency.
26 October 2021.
Addendum 27 October:
UK government U-turns on sewage after Tory MPs threaten rebellion | Pollution | The Guardian
House of Lords 26 October 2021 - Environment Bill - Tuesday 26 October 2021 - Hansard - UK Parliament
The Lords accepted the change put forward by the Commons but went on to put forward Amendment 45B which will impose a duty on sewage undertakers but one which is not as strong as that originally put forward.
The original clause - rejected by the Commons -
141A Duty on sewerage undertakers to take all reasonable steps to ensure untreated sewage is not discharged from storm overflows
(1) A sewerage undertaker must demonstrate improvements in the sewerage systems and progressive reductions in the harm caused by untreated sewage discharges.
(2) The Secretary of State, the Director and the Environment Agency must exercise their respective functions under this and any other Act to secure compliance with this duty
The revised clause -
“141A Duty on sewerage undertakers to take all reasonable steps to ensure untreated sewage is not discharged from storm overflows into inland and coastal waters
(1) A sewerage undertaker must, as soon as reasonable, take such steps as are necessary to— (a) demonstrate improvement in the performance of sewerage systems, and (b) secure progressive reductions in the harm caused by untreated sewage discharges into inland and coastal waters.
(2) The Secretary of State, the Director and the Environment Agency must exercise their respective functions under this and any other Act to secure compliance with this duty.”
Addendum 16 November 2021:
Royal Assent was given on 9 November 2021. The resulting Environment Act 2021 is a considerable Act of 8 Parts and 21 Schedules.
Section 80 to 84 deal with Storm Overflows. Section 83 inserts a new section 141DC into the Water Industry Act 1991 -
141DC Reduction of adverse impacts of storm overflows
(1) A sewerage undertaker whose area is wholly or mainly in England must secure a progressive reduction in the adverse impacts of discharges from the undertaker’s storm overflows.
(2) The reference in subsection (1) to reducing adverse impacts includes— (a) reducing adverse impacts on the environment, and (b) reducing adverse impacts on public health.
(3) The duty of a sewerage undertaker under this section is enforceable under section 18 by— (a) the Secretary of State, or (b) the Authority with the consent of or in accordance with a general authorisation given by the Secretary of State.
Parliamentary proceedings often appear to be convoluted and they can be difficult to follow but here is an example of how a significant amendment was dealt with and how political (and media) pressure secured what appears to be a more favourable outcome.
The Lords debate of 26 October is particularly informative -
House of Lords 26 October 2021 - Environment Bill - Tuesday 26 October 2021 - Hansard - UK Parliament
Is the new duty in force?
Section 147 of the Environment Act deals with commencement. The new duty brought about by section 83 is subject to a Commencement Order to be made by the Secretary of State. This may be a point for environmentalists to watch with some care if they are concerned that this duty be brought int sooner rather than later.
No comments:
Post a Comment