Summary
Action taken following receipt of complaints alleging failures by Defra, the Environment Agency, Natural England and a number of planning authorities to comply with their statutory obligations, resulting in inadequate protection and contributing to environmental harm in river catchments including the river Axe and the river Wye.
Outcomes and additional information
On 9 May 2024 the OEP published a report on the implementation of the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (England and Wales) Regulations 2017 (the ‘WFD Regulations’), River Basin Management Planning in England. This report finds that the government is not on track to meet the Environmental Objectives it has set for water bodies in England, and identifies a number of areas where the approach to implementation may fail to comply with WFD regulations.
In accordance with our issue-based approach and collaboration across the organisation, we assessed this complaint in the context of these findings and shared our analysis of the allegations with the relevant team to inform its development.
We have concluded that the recommendations set out in the Water report would likely address the substantive issues identified in this complaint, and as such we are not progressing to formal investigation on these specific matters.
The Government has three months to respond to our Report. We will be considering responses and other information we have in relation to this issue as we decide on our next steps to tackle poor water quality in England.