Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of Environment Agency has written to The Times newspaper rejecting its latest criticism that the “toothless Environment Agency lets farmers pollute rivers.”
Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of Environment Agency has written to The Times newspaper rejecting its latest criticism that the “toothless Environment Agency lets farmers pollute rivers.”
The Times article said:
“The Environment Agency is “falling alarmingly short” in its efforts to protect rivers from agricultural pollution, the Worldwide Fund for Nature has said, after freedom of information requests revealed that new laws are barely being enforced.”
Responding to the article, which was published on 17 August, the EA Chair said:
“Your latest attack on the Environment Agency (“Toothless Environment Agency lets farmers pollute rivers”, 17 August) is another misleading mix of fact and fiction.”
In a letter to The Times Emma Howard Boyd acknowledged that the Agency does not have a specific budget to enforce the new regulations to protect watercourses against diffuse pollution from agriculture.However, she pointed out once again:
“We don’t have all the resources we’d like to do so: the government grant for our environmental work has been cut by more than half since 2010, and we would like to see that restored.”
She went on to say that the EA had always planned not to enforce the law for the first year after it came into effect in April 2018 and to provide advice to farmers instead- and had made that clear when the scheme was launched, commenting:
“These were a set of new rules to which farmers needed time to adapt. All good regulators seek first to work with those they regulate through support and guidance, and only use enforcement when necessary.”
However, she emphasised that “it is not the case that we “let farmers pollute rivers”, saying that the Agency can and does take enforcement action, up to and including prosecution, against those who cause serious pollution incidents and that it targets persistent offenders. According to Emma Howard Boyd, the EA is having some success: in the last quarter (April-June 2019) the number of serious pollution incidents caused by farmers dropped to five, compared with 23 in the same period last year.
“Protecting and enhancing the water in our rivers and streams is a top priority for the Environment Agency”, she added, saying:
“We will always strive to do the best we can for the people and places we serve. And we are always open to fair criticism. But I hope that in future reporting on the Environment Agency’s work you will acknowledge our successes as well as our challenges. We’d be happy to meet and show you what we do to create a better place.”
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