£600,000 payment to Trent Rivers Trust following pollution
The payment follows the Environment Agency's investigation into a Severn Trent Water pollution of a Leicestershire brook.
- Environment Agency accepts Enforcement Undertaking from water company
- Pumping station fault causes pollution along 1 kilometre of Leicestershire brook
- Trent Rivers Trust to improve and restore vital habitats
A Leicestershire brook was polluted when Severn Trent Water failed to operate a pumping station properly.
An investigation by the Environment Agency revealed that the issue was not corrected for a few weeks in September 2022.
Officers discovered that 1 kilometre of West Meadow Brook, near Whitwick, had been polluted.
There was an “overwhelming” odour and a thick coating of sewage fungus covering the bed. Human faecal matter was also visible.
The case has ended in the company offering an Enforcement Undertaking (EU) and giving Trent Rivers Trust £600,000.
Enforcement Undertakings
An EU is a voluntary offer made by companies and individuals where the Environment Agency has reason to believe an offence has been committed.
It usually includes a payment to an environmental charity to carry out improvements.
The incident
The Environment Agency received reports of discharged sewage into the brook on 12 September 2022.
Contractors arrived at Brooks Lane Pumping Station the same day to stop the discharge.
The investigation revealed, however, that the discharge had been on-going for some weeks before.
Severn Trent admitted that their teams had failed to see that pumps had ‘latched out’ and were not activated.
The company also admitted that their teams had failed to monitor the site when the telemetry system had failed.
Emma Hardy, Minister for Water and Flooding, said:
Pollution incidents like this are completely unacceptable and should never have been allowed to occur. It is only right that Seven Trent pays for its failings, and I’m pleased local environmental charities will benefit.
After years of failure, this Government is strengthening regulation further through the Water (Special Measures) Bill so that water companies are held to account, benefiting customers and the environment.
Neil Ratcliffe, the investigating officer for the East Midlands Environment Agency, said:
Protecting the environment in the East Midlands and taking action against those that damage or threaten this is our utmost priority.
We will always consider prosecution in the most serious cases, but Enforcement Undertakings are an effective enforcement tool for less serious cases.
EUs allow companies to put things right and contribute to environmental improvements.
They also allow polluters to correct and restore the harm caused to the environment and prevent repeat incidents by improving procedures.
Matt Easter, chief executive officer for Trent Rivers Trust, said:
Whilst we would rather such incidents did not take place, Enforcement Undertakings are an effective tool to support the recovery of our rivers and catchments following severe pollution events.
The funds will be used to restore and improve vital habitats and introduce or enhance natural processes that will cope better during any future pollution incident.
With the funding, Trent Rivers Trust will create a more natural catchment to better support the communities and wildlife that depend on its health and resilience.
What is an Enforcement Undertaking?
An Enforcement Undertaking is available to the Environment Agency as an alternative sanction to prosecution or monetary penalty for certain environmental offences.
It is a legal agreement proposed by a business (or an individual) when the Environment Agency has reasonable grounds to suspect that an environmental offence has occurred.
Enforcement Undertakings for environmental offences were first introduced under the Environmental Civil Sanctions (England) Order 2010 and the Environmental Civil Sanctions (Miscellaneous Amendments) (England) Regulations 2010 but have since been made available for other environmental offences, including under the Environmental Permitting Regulations.
Accepting an Enforcement Undertaking is always at the discretion of the Environment Agency.
EUs can be offered for offences including polluting rivers, breaching permit conditions designed to protect communities, or failing to register and comply with recycling/recovery obligations.
The Environment Agency then carefully considers whether the actions offered by the offender are acceptable and in line with our enforcement and sanctions policy.
Why use Enforcement Undertakings?
Businesses will voluntarily secure compliance now and in the future, without attracting a criminal record.
The environment, local community and those directly impacted by the offending can benefit through actions being offered in an EU.
They allow the Environment Agency to deal with the less intentional and polluting offending in a more proportionate way than prosecution through the criminal courts.
The Environment Agency reserves the right to prosecute or impose a monetary penalty, where offenders fail to comply with the terms of an Enforcement Undertaking offer.