“Payment for pollution” regulation a national scandal, says Tory Shadow Minister

Martin Shipton

A probably anomal agreement under which the environmental regulator of Wales from DŵR Cymru Welsh Water was sent to the right to waterways per year was described by a shadow minister as a national scandal.

Last week nation.cymru reported how details of such payments to natural resources Wales were published by the water society to Alun Phillips, founder of the charity a peace of nature, which is located in Ogmore-by-Sea in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Mr. Phillips asked Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water (DCWW): “How much is the total expenditure forecast for environmental permits over the next five years?

DCWW estimated a total of 32 million GBP, but this could increase by a further 25 million GBP if the fees for the expected increases in England corresponds.

Ogmore-by-Sea

Mr. Phillips submitted his information request for a serious wastewater pollution into Ogmore-by-Sea in May 2024, which meant that DCWW did not use people not to use the local beach, advice not to use the local beach.

At the time, DCWW said that “about a liter of a second” was released into the river, with about half a million liters of dirty water drove into the Ogmore River.

Mark Ryan, chairman of the Ogmore Angling Association, said at the time that some were “careful” in front of the fishing in the area.

He added: “We said to our members that they should wash and renovate their hands after fish. The influence is that the river is written off, they cannot fish them. In more detail, the entire gray poisonous liquid is killed.

The latest available national data showed that DCWW in 2023 for more than 916,000 hours in rivers, lakes and the sea around Wales.

'Horrified'

Wayne Preec, CEO from Group from Hydro Industries, a company based in Carmarthenshire that helps developing countries to secure safe water supply, said he was horrified to find out from Mr. Phillips that NRW from DCWW deserves DCWW in order to relieve soiled water with waste water.

“They call them environmental permits, but in fact the payments to NRW feel like a perverse license to the environment,” he said.

“There is a clear conflict of interest in relation to North Rhine -Westphalia. It should be the environmental authority of Wales, but it sells licenses to DCWW so that it can initiate wastewater in Wales' waterways.

“It is a ridiculous situation and it cannot go on. If things stand, it seems that more permits are given, which inevitably leads to more pollution.

“It doesn't have to be like that. It must be a concerted exertion to end sewage discharges, but this is unlikely if the water regulator pays millions to enable further pollution.”

Nadia de Longhi, head of regulation and approval for natural resources Wales, said: “NRW provides a number of permits to a large number of industries, including water companies, and we cost to determine approval and compliance activities that we have to carry out.

“The environmental permits we issue set conditions for discharge to reduce the damage of our rivers, lakes and coastal waters.

“Our teams are robustly regulated to ensure that the approval conditions are observed and the effects of the water company on the environment are minimized.

“The complete costs for the restoration of these activities of operators and not from the public handbag matches the” dirty figure principle “and means that we can better lead our resources to regulate and protect the environment of Wales.”

Financial rules

NRW points out that the principle of full cost recovery corresponds to the rules and obligations as part of the order of natural resources for wales (establishment) in 2012.

However, Janet Finch-Saundermens MS said: “If the environmental permits are abused to issue dŵr Cymru blank checks to release wastewater into our waterways, this is nothing less than a national scandal.

“With Wales, which relax four times as many wastewater, proportional to England, and DŵR Cymru customers who pay the highest water invoices in England and Wales, the revelation that these funds can be used to facilitate such discharges is completely unacceptable.

“I have long argued that natural resources whale is not suitable for the purpose and have to be separated. This obvious failure to prioritize environmental protection undermines public trust and endangers the natural beauty of wales.”