The Environment Agency in England has reduced 93% of prosecutions for serious polluting incidents over the past four years, despite the recommendation from frontline staff that the perpetrators face the maximum sanction. This is according to a Guardian leaked report.
According to an internal document, between April 2016 and December 2020 investigators from the agency gathered evidence, prepared case files and filed 495 serious incidents involving the worst form of pollution of rivers or coastal waters, as well as serious crimes against waste.
They suggested that all cases be prosecuted by the agency. However, the document shows that only 35 cases were moved forward to prosecution after managers intervened.
The highest categories of waste pollution were investigated by officers and included those perpetrated in serious organised crime. 386 cases were recommended for prosecution. Only 4% of cases were pursued while the rest were either downgraded to a warning, enforcement notice, or warning letter or left without further action. The following chart shows the number of cases that were dropped. The government claimed that they were engaged in a crackdown upon waste criminals.
In the investigation of serious pollution incidents in rivers or coastal waters, officers determined that 109 cases should be brought to trial. These cases likely involved violations of permits by water companies that led to illegal discharges and other serious water pollution. Only 21 of these cases were pursued for prosecution, while 19% of the cases were.
This information supports claims that the EA has been reduced to the point where investigating pollution incidents is deprivetised and the regulator is no longer a deterrent for polluters.
The report suggests that EA officials may ignore serious waste crime involving organised criminal groups.
According to a Guardian report, staff have been instructed to ignore pollution incidents lower in level. These are the so-called Category 3 and 4 incidents.
However, the internal report shows that most waste offenses are listed under current guidance categories 3 and 4. Therefore, the new guidance will not allow for investigation of any that are not part of major or severe operations dealing with organized crime.
According to the leaked document, the agency cannot underestimate the importance of large amounts of cat 3 in waste and water quality pollution incidents.
These include chronic cat3 impacts associated with priority offenders, long-running high risk waste sites, and deliberate and complicity by offenders with enforcement histories, states the document.
These are often more appropriate to an upper tier. [stronger enforcement]It said that it was a cat 1, or 3.
According to the report, one reason for the downgrading of the agency could be that our ability to prosecute cases and to prove offences has decreased over the years.
It is a concern for the angling community that permit breaches or pollution incidents are miscategorized as having low impact.
Fish Legal, a campaign group has details of a pollution accident in which building rubble were dumped into a tributary river of the River Tamar. It was initially deemed category 2 but was later downgraded without any inspection or sampling to category 3. The perpetrator was given a warning notice.
A spokesperson for Environment Agency stated that the regulator does not comment upon leaked documents. They did however say that they do consider, record, prioritize, and prioritise all incidents.
They stated that there are many enforcement options available, including civil sanctions, enforcement undertakings and, in certain cases, advice and guidance. We pursue prosecutions when appropriate. We do so in compliance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors. It states that the evidence must have a realistic chance of securing conviction and that prosecutions are in the public’s interest.
The spokesperson stated that more than 90% of our prosecutions are successful and that recent outcomes such the 90m fine for Southern Water Services demonstrate a clear and welcome trend toward larger fines against offenders when appropriate.
