I am pleased that the landmark Environment Bill has now been passed into law. The Act will ensure that the UK can deliver an ambitious environmental programme that transforms how we protect our natural environment, strengthen our use of natural resources, and make our air cleaner.
In recent weeks, a number of Watford residents have contacted me regarding the Lords Amendment tabled by the Duke of Wellington, and to ask why I felt that I could not support the Amendment as originally written. I feel that it is important to clarify that when the original vote took place, we were not voting to allow water companies to dump sewage into fresh water. Sewage discharge is a practice that has been taking place for decades, and the passage of the Environment Bill through Parliament has helped to highlight issues such as this which need to be addressed, and it is right that we now look to tackle the harm caused by storm overflows.
I have been raising these very concerns about sewage discharge in our waters to Ministers in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs since the original Amendment was put forward to the House of Commons for consideration, and this was acknowledged in the Minister’s closing remarks at the debate on this issue. This is one of the reasons why I am pleased that this Act will crack down on water companies that discharge sewage into our rivers and waterways, with a new duty placed on them to ensure that they secure a progressive reduction in the adverse impacts of discharges from storm overflows, as well as new legally binding duties on the Government to publish a plan to reduce sewage discharges from storm overflows by September next year. Moreover, the package of measures introduced through the Environment Act will also create three new duties on water companies to publish data on storm overflow operation, publish near real time information on the operation of storm overflows and to monitor the water quality upstream and downstream of storm overflows and sewage disposal works.
Other aspects of the Environment Act will ensure that more is done to protect natural habitats and forests by preventing larger UK businesses from using commodities that are associated with wide-scale deforestation. It also includes a new legally binding target to reverse the decline in the number of hedgehogs and red squirrels in our country. Taken together with other measures such as the strengthening of woodland protection enforcement measures, this will protect our forests and woodlands and the animals that reside in them.
Moreover, this Act will lead to the introduction of new measures to make the air that we breath cleaner. There will be a legally binding duty on the government to introduce at least two air quality targets by October 2022. There will also be an extension of the Environment Act 1995 and the Clean Air Act 1993, with measures to ensure that responsibility for tackling local air pollution will be shared by all levels of local government.
I particularly welcome the fact that the Environment Act changes how we manage waste as the government extends producer responsibility to make producers pay for 100% of the cost of the disposal of products, starting with producers of plastic packaging. Earlier this month I hosted the Watford Environmental Roundtable & Food Waste Summit in Parliament to create a plan for reducing food waste and single use plastic in Watford. The new legislation introduced at the national level will complement the work that I am leading at the local level.
Following the passing of the Act, the Environment Secretary George Eustice said: “This Environment Act will halt the decline of species by 2030, clean up our air and protect the health of our rivers, reform the way in which we deal with waste and tackle deforestation overseas. We are setting an example for the rest of the world to follow.”
Since being elected as the Member of Parliament for Watford, I have been passionate about protecting our local environment. I truly believe that we can all play our part in making our town both cleaner and greener. This is why I am working with representatives from a number of organisations following my inaugural Watford Environmental Roundtable & Food Waste Summit to create a plan to release an ambitious food waste strategy for our town. I welcome the passing of the Environment Act and will continue to work nationally with the government and locally with the many fantastic organisations we have in Watford to make our town, and our country, a cleaner and greener place for all.
If you would like to read more about the Watford Environmental Roundtable and Food Summit, you can do so via this link: https://www.deanrussell.co.uk/post/dean-russell-mp-hosts-inaugural-watford-food-waste-summit
If you would like to read more about the Environment Act, you can do so via this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/world-leading-environment-act-becomes-law
