3 Water quality standards and environmental permits

14.09 The regulatory provisions for water pollution are underpinned by a classification system for different categories of water, and the setting of environmental quality objectives for individual stretches of controlled waters by the Environment Agency.

(a)Statutory water quality objectives

14.10 The establishment of water quality objectives is provided for in ss 82–84 of the Water Resources Act 1991. This is an on-going exercise and it will take many years for statutory WQOs to be set for all controlled waters in the UK. The first stage in this process involves the establishment of a system for classifying the quality of different categories of controlled waters.¹⁵ For example, water may be classified as drinking water, or bathing water. The classification of different categories of water will incorporate the mandatory standards required by the various EU Directives regulating water quality for bathing, drinking and other waters. The process of classifying the different categories of waters is on going. Domestic regulations are, for example, in place for classifying surface waters,¹⁶ river ecosystems in surface waters,¹⁷ and bathing waters.¹⁸

14.11 Water quality objectives will then be established for individual stretches of water.¹⁹ The objectives chosen will adopt the standards in the appropriate water classification as statutory objectives. The quality objectives can be expressed by means of quality standards, eg to be pure enough to be drinking water there may be a standard of no more than 50mg/l of nitrates in it.

(b)Environmental permits

14.12 An environmental permit from the Environment Agency is required for any water discharge activity. These include the entry or discharge into inland freshwaters, coastal waters or territorial waters:

(a)Of any poisonous, noxious of polluting matter;

(b)Of any waste matter or any trade or sewage effluent;

(c)And any discharge of trade or sewage effluent through a pipe from land into the sea outside the limits of controlled waters;

(d)And for any discharge where a prohibition is in force.²⁰

14.13 ‘Trade effluent’ is defined to include any effluent from trade premises, which will include agricultural holdings and fish farms, as well as industrial or research establishments. ‘Effluent’ will include not only agricultural wastes (such as slurry) but also other liquids with noxious or toxic impact (such as fuel oil); and the discharge into controlled waters of any of these substances without an environmental permit will constitute an offence under the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010.²¹ The issue of a discharge permit by the Environment Agency will legitimise any discharge into controlled waters that would otherwise have constituted a pollution offence. It will not constitute a ‘water discharge activity’ attracting potential criminal liability if the entry or discharge is made under and in accordance with an authorisation granted under a prescribed statutory provision.²² The use of environmental permits (formerly discharge consents) is of strategic importance to the Agency’s long-term obligation to impose and monitor water quality objectives under EU water quality directives, which require the classification of water supplies for various purposes.²³

14.14 Procedural rules for the granting of consents are laid down in the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010.²⁴ These are now the same as those applying to all environmental permits, and require an application to be made to the Agency, together with such information as they may reasonably require. An application for proposed discharges at two or more places will be treated as separate applications for permits for discharges at each of those places.

14.15 The Agency is under a duty to review from time to time the consents granted by it under these provisions. It has power to revoke or modify the consent on review, or if the consent was given unconditionally, to impose conditions. Every environmental permit issued by the Agency must, however, state a period during which no notice amending or revoking it will be given, and for stand alone water discharge activities this period must be not less than four years from the date the permit was granted.²⁹ As a rule, therefore, permits can only be amended following review at intervals of at least four years – unless the amendment is made with the agreement of the producer affected.

14.16 The Environment Agency can impose ‘such conditions as it sees fit’ when granting an environmental permit.³⁰ When fixing the conditions attached to a permit it must take into account all material consideration, and these will include inter alia the water quality objectives set for the receiving waters, any other effects on the receiving waters (for example impacts on downstream users who take water for irrigation purposes) and any other relevant EU standards for the discharges concerned or the waters into which it is to be made.