Water legislation for England aims to control water quality. It covers discharges to sewers, surface waters and groundwater, water abstraction and impounding and the protection of water against agricultural nitrate pollution.
We provide this list as a guide to key environmental legislation that may apply to your business. We review it periodically but it does not include every piece of legislation that may affect your business. As there may be additional legislation that applies to your particular activities and circumstances, you should check with your environmental regulator, legal advisor or environmental consultant to find out if there are any more legal requirements that apply to you.
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Sets out the contents of anti-pollution works notices, how to appeal against such notices, and how to claim compensation for access rights in connection with anti-pollution works.
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Sets out procedures for applying for or varying consents for discharge into controlled waters and appeals to the Secretary of State. Details the information the Environment Agency has to keep in water pollution control registers.
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Imposes general requirements for preventing pollution of controlled waters from oil storage, particularly fixed tanks or mobile bowsers. Makes contravention a criminal offence.
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Brings into force rules to force polluters to prevent and repair damage to water systems, land quality, species and their habitats and protected sites. The polluter does not need to be prosecuted first, so remedying the damage will be faster.
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Provides a consolidated system for environmental permits and exemptions for industrial activities, mobile plant, waste operations, mining waste operations, water discharge activities, groundwater activities and radioactive substances activities.
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Implements the EU Nitrates Directive to reduce nitrates from agriculture entering water systems. Sets Nitrate Vulnerable Zones, controls spreading of nitrogen fertiliser and sets closed periods, controls the application and storage of organic manure.
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Amends 2008/2349 to introduce a procedure for applying for the rules on the amount of nitrogen in organic manure that you can apply to an agricultural holding to be relaxed.
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Specifies which categories of trade effluent have their discharge to public sewers controlled. Also requires sewerage undertakers to notify Environment Agency if they intend to vary existing trade effluent consents
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Amends 1989/1156 to require that the Environment Agency is notified of other types of sewerage agreements.
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Sets out the framework for abstraction licensing, regulates impoundments, increases competition in water supply and includes measures for drought management and flood defence work in England and Wales.
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Consolidates previous legislation on water supply and sewerage services (including trade effluent consents) and opens up the market to allow private sector companies to compete to be appointed as water and sewerage undertakers.
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Sets up the regime, now controlled by the Environment Agency, to conserve, manage and control pollution of water resources. Requires licences for abstraction and impoundment of water, and establishes flood defence committees.
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Guidance on Water Resources Act 1991
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Amends Water Resources Act 1991 by extending the use of Water Protection Zones and Works Notices, in particular to deal with harm to aquatic ecosystems caused by the physical characteristics of a water course such as the condition of river banks.
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Establishes construction and storage standards for silage-making and storage, slurry storage systems and agricultural fuel oil stores, with the aim of reducing water pollution.
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Amends 2010/639, by correcting defects in definition and offences clauses.
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Requires an assessment of the likely environmental impact of projects abstracting over 20 cubic metres of water in 24 hours and agricultural water management projects, including irrigation projects.
