The Government has today signalled the beginning of the end for any legally enforceable targets against river pollution, known as statutory water quality objectives (SWQOs), even before the first set has been established [1] [2]. SWQOs would have placed legally enforceable ceilings on among other things, sewage pollution of our rivers, thereby protecting wildlife and recreational water users.

Today the Government announced consultation on 'a small set of SWQOs'. After these consultations Mr Gummer will then decide 'whether and in what form to make the SWQO' and generally 'whether SWQOs should be introduced on a wider basis' [1].

Six years after the Government promised that SWQOs, described by the NRA's Chief Scientist as the 'essential cornerstone of the NRA's water quality responsibilities' [3], would be in place, there are still none established. Mr Gummer has already broken promises on SWQOs made as recently as 1993 [4].

It is now clear that SWQOs have no chance of being the 'forcing targets' once envisaged by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution [5].

Guy Linley-Adams, Water Campaigner at Friends of the Earth said:

"Six years after promising legally enforceable river pollution targets, the Government has woken up to the fact that these would give Friends of the Earth, and others who care about rivers, powers to force change on polluters through the local courts. Quite simply, they are terrified and are backsliding as a result."

Friends of the Earth believes that the pressure from the deregulators in the Department of the Trade and Industry (DTI) has made it impossible for Mr Gummer to deliver what his predecessors promised to reassure environmentalists at the time of water privatisation [2].

CONTACT: GUY LINLEY-ADAMS, WATER CAMPAIGNER, 071-566-1685 OR NEIL VERLANDER, INFORMATION OFFICER, 071-566-1649

Guy Linley-Adams continued:

"The good work the NRA has done in its five years will surely go to waste. This is yet more evidence that Mr Gummer's Department of the Environment is unable to fight off the deregulators. This is a very dangerous situation indeed."

Despite many Government commitments to 'maintain and improve' river quality [6], the DoE has recently blocked over o400 million of spending by water companies to clean rivers [7]. There were 32,000 water pollution incidents in the year 1993/4, yet only just over 400 prosecutions were carried out [8].

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

[1] Department of the Environment Press Release 7th February 1995

[2] Statutory Water Quality Objectives (SWQOs) would be legally enforceable water quality targets for rivers, estuaries, lakes, canals and coastal waters. In 1987 the Government said the 'new objectives' would be in place by 1989. There are still no SWQOs in place.

[3] Dr Jan Pentreath, NRA Chief Scientist in Proposals for Statutory Water Quality Objectives. NRA (December 1991) Water Quality Series no 5.

[4] John Gummer and John Redwood stated that "SWQOs are gradually to be introduced for the end of this year (1993)" but that "SWQOs should be set so as to mirror the improvements" which can be expected due to implementation of EC Directives and that "SWQOs should not lead to extra water industry investment". ("Water Charges; the Quality Framework" Department of the Environment/Welsh Office October 1993).

[5] The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution Sixteenth Report 'Freshwater Quality' (June 1992) recommended that "the objectives themselves should be tightened progressively, to reflect increasingly ambitious TARGETS for water quality...(our emphasis)" (RCEP 16th Report, June 1992).

CONTACT: GUY LINLEY-ADAMS, WATER CAMPAIGNER, 071-566-1685 OR NEIL VERLANDER, INFORMATION OFFICER, 071-566-1649

PAGE 3 FRIENDS OF THE EARTH [6] The Government had committed itself to 'maintaining and improving' the quality of rivers on many occasions including:

* DoE Press Statement (19th July 1985) * The Government White Paper "Privatisation of the Water Authorities in England and Wales" (February 1986) * The Government's policy document entitled "The National Rivers Authority: the Government's policy for a public regulatory body in a privatised water industry" (December 1987).

[7] Despite the advice of the National Rivers Authority that o918 million was required to clean up polluted rivers, the Government, under political pressure due to escalating water bills, has decided that only o522 million will be spent in the run up to the year 2000. The Department of the Environment had indicated to the National Rivers Authority in January 1994 that 102 of the 131 priority schemes identified by the National Rivers Authority for discretionary spending would not be given the go-ahead. (Friends of the Earth Press Release 10th January 1994 "Government Rats on Water Clean-Up Promises"). The list was later confirmed by Robert Atkins in response to a PQ on Thursday 13th January 1994.

[8] There were 32,000 reported pollution incidents in 1993/4 of which 24,000 were substantiated by the National Rivers Authority. However the NRA only secured 423 convictions for pollution offences in 1993/4 (NRA Annual Report 1993/4).

CONTACT: GUY LINLEY-ADAMS, WATER CAMPAIGNER, 071-566-1685 OR NEIL VERLANDER, INFORMATION OFFICER, 071-566-1649