Automatic fines would mean water companies would be fined 301,000 times last year alone. Photo: PA/Rui Vieira
Water companies will be fined automatically every time they dump sewage into rivers and seas, in line with plans that Labor is considering for its general election manifesto.
Firms who pay dividends but continue to repeatedly pollute waterways may be subject to higher fines than those who do so. do not reward shareholders, according to the proposals.
Automatic fines would mean that last year alone, water companies were fined 301,000 times — one for each leak officially reported by the Environmental Protection Agency.
In contrast, only four water companies were held liable for violation of overflow permits between 2018 and 2022. the regulator, which in the current system decides when to impose fines.
As the Daily Telegraph knows, the automatic fines plan was included in the Labor National Policy Forum document when it was approved last month.
This means that Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer is officially considering it for inclusion in the manifesto general elections next year. Bookies prefer Labour.
The Telegraph is running a «Clean Rivers» campaign to improve water quality by highlighting sewage spills and calling for urgent action.
Labor's Automatic Fines Proposal is one of a series of tough measures to persuade water companies to stop sewage spills.
Others include firing directors of water companies who consistently deviate and ignore their duties, and introducing a mandatory control of wastewater outlets.
Jim McMahon, Labour's Shadow Environment Minister, told The Telegraph: «The Tories not only gave green water companies an easier way to dump raw sewage, but they also made it possible for them to be rewarded for it by letting firms and bosses just walk away with huge dividends and bonuses.
«And to add insult to injury, the Tories believe his families across the country should pay the bills for cleaning up their mess.
“The next Labor government will put an end to the Tory sewer scandal by mandating monitoring of all sewers, imposing automatic discharge fines paid for by reduced dividends, setting ambitious goals to stop systematic sewage dumping and ensuring that drivers are legally detained. to explain the negligence.»
Labor's proposals go further than conservative government policy
Veign Tory figures have defended their data on sewage spills by pointing to an increase in the maximum level of fines that can be imposed on companies for spills to 250 million pounds.
Labour's proposals now go further than Tory policy in government in terms of their toughness in dealing with water companies that break wastewater regulations.
The problem of spills into Britain's rivers and seas is a reflection of much of the sewer Victorian country systems have jumped the political agenda in recent years.
Conservative MPs, frustrated that no more is being done to solve the problem, have rebelled at a number of points over the past two years, forcing the government to make concessions.
Conservatives, Labor and Liberal Democrats are all putting forward proposals to reduce the problem — a reflection of how widespread voter anger over the leaks is.
The exact details of how Labour's automatic fine system will work are being worked out behind the scenes, with a more complete picture is expected to be presented at the party's fall conference.
One area that is under scrutiny is how to make the connection between the amount of money a water company pays out to its shareholders in dividends and the amount they will be fined.
Teresa Coffey defends the report Governments
Teresa Coffey, the environment minister, defended the Conservatives' reputation on the issue in a speech back in February after more than a decade in office.
Ms Coffey said: «People are concerned about the impact of sewage entering our rivers and seas, and I am very clear that this is completely unacceptable.»
«We must be clear that this is not a new problem . Storm floods have been around for over a century. The law has always allowed discharges to be regulated. This is how our Victorian sewer is arranged — sewage and rainwater pass through the same pipe. When it reaches a certain height, it is poured out into another pipe and into rivers.
“And while we have done more than any other government to achieve this, we were the first government to require companies to start comprehensive monitoring of the leak. so we could see what was really going on — more work to be done.»
A Conservative Party source said: «Labour's plan will just let the water companies off the hook. A basic policy of automatic fines would result in a minimum penalty.
“Meanwhile, the government is speeding up prosecutions and we are making sure the polluter always pays. More empty words from Labor and a lack of understanding of politics.”
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