Penrith and the Border MP welcomes tougher fines for water companies

At the Conservative Party Conference, newly appointed Environment Secretary, Ranil Jayawardena, announced further action to clean up our waters and tackle storm overflows that discharge an 'unacceptable and illegal' amount of sewage into our rivers and lakes.

In his speech, he outlined a formal consultation process on lifting the £250,000 cap for Environment Agency fines of water companies breaching environmental regulations to £250million, 'holding water companies to account' for illegal sewage discharges.

Earlier in the summer there was controversy after pollution warnings were issued when water companies discharged untreated sewage and wastewater into the sea.

Dr Neil Hudson MP has made cleaning up the county’s waters one of his top priorities for Penrith and The Border and said he has campaigned for this issue since his election in 2019.

“The scourge of sewage in our waterways and seas has been an intolerable blight on our country for too long,” Dr Neil Hudson MP said.

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“Having repeatedly called for action on this issue, I welcome that Government has listened to me and my colleagues and that tough new measures are planned which will tackle these absolutely unacceptable and illegal sewage discharges.

“When repeatedly quizzing in parliament the incoming Environment Agency and Ofwat bosses, as part of my role on the Commons Efra Select Committee, I asked them both if they had the teeth to crack down on sewage discharges – now with the ability to enact fines of up to £250 million, their answers must surely be yes!

“For all of us here in beautiful Cumbria, I’m so aware of just how important our precious yet fragile natural landscapes are, and these measures will make sure our waterways are better protected for generations to come.”

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