The Office for Environmental Protection has stressed the importance of effective implementation of environmental law in its formal submission to the Independent Water Commission led by Sir Jon Cunliffe.
The OEP was asked for views on whether the 2027 target under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) Regulations should be reformed. The response states that there is a widespread view, shared by the OEP, that these 2027 objectives will not be met for many of the surface water bodies in question.
It is the OEP’s view that the expected failure to meet these targets is, at least in significant part, the result of a failure to produce and apply specific plans, rather than a failure in the design of the regulations themselves.
Should the Commission choose to recommend reform of these targets, or government wish to propose such amendments, the OEP urges that the targets set are ambitious, long-term and legally-binding ‘apex’ targets that specify the environmental outcomes to be achieved, which should then be pursued through specific and timebound delivery plans, accompanied by review mechanisms.
On the overarching framework for managing water, the OEP identifies some positive attributes under the WFD Regulations, in that the regime sets out an outcome-based approach to environmental law and specifies processes to achieve those outcomes. It provides significant technical analysis and a vision for an improved water environment.
However, the submission states that there is the opportunity to improve delivery and governance mechanisms in order to create the accountability needed to achieve intended outcomes across the wider framework for managing water.
Dame Glenys Stacey, Chair of the OEP, said: “Effective implementation will be critical to any revised regime. We therefore suggest that those who must implement it should be closely involved in its design, with identification of clear and specific actions and accountabilities for each party.”
The OEP’s full submission can be downloaded via the blue button to the right of this page.
