Archived press release

Sewage spending spot-on

14 January 2004

Friends of the Earth welcomed the increased allocation of funds for water and sewerage announced by Ian Pearson in the 2004 - 06 budget [1]. Commenting Pollution Campaigner, Declan Allison, said,

"This substantial cash increase is good news for Northern Ireland. Our crumbling Victorian sewerage network urgently needs upgraded in order to protect people's health and the environment."

"In 2003, Friends of the Earth made a complaint to the European Commission on Water Service's persistent failure to comply with important European sewage laws [2]. The complaint could result in hefty fines and it's the threat of such fines from Europe which has prised open Government coffers."

"Friends of the Earth will be pressing Water Service to enter into a legally binding agreement with Environment and Heritage Service, Northern Ireland's environmental protection body, which could see sanctions being imposed if it fails to keep to its construction timetable."

Notes

[1] The Department for Regional Development's allocation for water and sewerage is as follows:

Full details can be found at www.northernireland.gov.uk/

[2] The Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. Friends of the Earth's complaint can be found here (PDF format)

†To view PDF files you will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Visually impaired users can get extra help with these documents from access.adobe.com.

Friends of the Earth Northern Ireland
7 Donegall Street Place
BELFAST
BT1 2FN
Tel: 028 9023 3488
Fax: 028 9024 7556
Email: [email protected]

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust