The
Environment Agency's comments following
the Government’s response to Sir Michael
Pitt’s review of the summer 2007 floods
Following the Government’s
response today to Sir Michael Pitt’s review
of the summer 2007 floods, the Environment
Agency is encouraging all local authorities
in England to begin implementing their future
role in managing local flood risk.
The Environment Agency
has already made good progress in taking
on its new strategic overview role for all
types of flooding in England, ahead of securing
necessary powers in the forthcoming Floods
and Water Bill. Some councils, such as Hull,
Leeds and Gloucestershire, have made significant
progress in understanding and managing local
flood and coastal risk. However, the Environment
Agency is today urging all authorities to
start implementing their future responsibilities
and not to wait for legislation to be passed.
Since the floods of
summer 2007, the Environment Agency has
identified and provided maps of local areas
susceptible to surface water flooding, which
was the principal cause of flooding to properties.
This has helped local authorities to better
understand, plan and manage surface water
flooding in their locality. Together with
the Met Office, it has also launched a successful
Extreme Rainfall Alert (ERA) pilot service
to forecast and warn emergency responders
about extreme events.
The Environment Agency
has also made significant progress in a
number of other areas focused on by Sir
Michael Pitt including:
Establishing a new joint
Flood Forecasting Centre for England and
Wales with the Met Office to combine expertise
in weather and flood risk forecasting under
the same roof for the first time. The Centre
will provide the basis for an improved forecasting
and alert service for emergency responders;
Completing 54 new flood defences in England
and Wales since June 2007, increasing protection
to more than 38,000 homes – including the
scheme at Hexham which has protected against
flooding twice since completion;
Signing up an extra 78,000 properties to
its free Flood Warnings Direct service since
July 2007;
Providing extensive advice to Local Resilience
Forums and the operators of critical infrastructure
about steps that should be taken to address
flood risk at such sites;
Working with water utilities and Water UK
on a national protocol for sharing data
for surface water risk assessments and planning;
and
Continuing to raise public awareness of
flood risk.
The Environment Agency is pleased to see
the Government’s continuing commitment to
spending on flood and coastal risk management.
But we believe that it will need to keep
pace with climate change. The Environment
Agency is developing a long term investment
strategy, to understand what funding is
needed over the next 25 years to manage
flood risk.
We also welcome the
recent announcement in the pre-budget report
that will see £20 million of existing
funding brought forward, enabling work to
commence a year earlier than planned on
over 70 new projects in England.
Welcoming the Government’s
response to Sir Michael Pitt’s report, Environment
Agency Chief Executive Dr Paul Leinster,
said:
“We are pleased that
the Government agrees that the Environment
Agency is the right organisation to be given
the strategic overview role for all types
of flood and coastal risk in England. This
role will enable us to provide leadership
and to coordinate the planning and management
of all sources of flood risk. The forthcoming
Floods and Water Bill will give us the proper
legal tools and clarity of responsibilities
to complete the task ahead.
“We have been working
closely with Government, local authorities
and emergency responders to ensure that
we are all better prepared for flooding
when it occurs. Individuals and businesses
must also take steps to prepare themselves
for the risk of flooding.
“We must all acknowledge
the real threat posed by climate change
and adapt accordingly to protect lives,
the environment and the economy. Investment
in flood and coastal risk management should
continue to rise to help to meet these challenges.”
Farm company fined for
pesticide pollution
A farm company has been
found guilty of polluting an Oxfordshire
stream and lake, killing fish and invertebrates
and putting wildlife at risk.
Caudwell and Sons Limited
of The Grange, 13 Gravel Lane, Drayton,
nr Abingdon, Oxon. OX14 4HY
pleaded guilty at Didcot
Magistrates Court on 15 December 2008 to
an offence under Section 85(1) of the Water
Resources Act 1991, of causing pesticides
to enter a tributary of the Ginge Brook,
Oxfordshire on Saturday 20 October 2007.
Caudwell & Sons
Ltd were fined £8,000 and ordered
to pay £6,683 in court costs: £14,683
in total.
The court heard that
on the 20 October 2007, the Environment
Agency received a telephone call on its
incident hotline from a member of the public
stating that a local stream had turned a
‘lime green colour’. An Environment Agency
officer attend the scene immediately and
discovered the source of the discoloured
water to a pipe confirmed as the land drain
from a field owned by Caudwell and Sons
Ltd.
Investigations revealed
that Mr Caudwell (Director) failed to alert
authorities when a significant volume of
pesticide mix was lost after a malfunction
in his sprayer during a morning of spraying
arable fields.
Samples taken of the
discharge from the land drain were found
to have concentrations of both pesticides
(Defy and Treflan) with Treflan present
by 190 times the maximum allowable concentration
under the Environmental Quality Standards.
Hundreds of fish including
rainbow trout and roach died as a result
of the pesticides entering the water. The
invertebrate population was also badly affected
with large numbers of freshwater shrimps
killed. Ginge Brook is also home to the
rare native water vole which is a protected
species under the Wildlife and Countryside
Act 1981.
The Court also heard
that pesticide levels in the water remained
toxic for over a month after the incident
occurred.
In sentencing, the magistrate
recognised the seriousness of the offence
and called the company ‘reckless’ in not
reporting the incident to the Environment
Agency.
Environment Officer
Deborah Yates said: “This incident highlights
the importance of putting agricultural training
into practice. The spilling of pesticide
can have a devastating effect on a watercourse,
as this incident has shown. If Caudwell
and Sons Ltd had reported the incident to
the Environment Agency when it happened,
the impact of the pesticides could have
been drastically reduced.
The Environment Agency
operate a ‘polluter pays’ principle. We
are pleased the court has recognised the
damaging environmental impact of this pollution.
We hope this result encourages all agricultural
companies to ensure pollution prevention
measures and procedures are in place to
avoid this kind of incident happening in
the future.”
The public can report
environmental crimes on the Environment
Agency’s 24-hour emergency hotline on 0800
807060.
