The Environment Agency says parts of southern, central and eastern England are moving closer to drought status after a third heatwave, with very low July rainfall, rising water demand and growing pressure on supplies. The National Drought Group has stepped up monitoring, incident response and public communication, while water companies have introduced or announced temporary use bans affecting millions of customers.
The Environment Agency is taking measures to maintain River Severn flows during prolonged dry weather, including releases from reservoirs in Wales and support from the Shropshire Groundwater Scheme. It is also carrying out fish rescues on affected stretches of the River Teme and working with farmers, growers and water companies on sustainable water use and temporary abstraction restrictions.
The Environment Agency has published statutory guidance for standard rules permit SR2008 No 9 covering the storage of asbestos waste. The guidance sets out strict conditions for how asbestos waste must be stored, including secure containment, segregation, time limits, and prohibitions on repackaging, loose storage, and certain handling methods.
The Environment Agency has consulted on a revised standard rules permit for the storage of asbestos waste under SR2008 No 9. The update is intended to improve the design and operation of permitted facilities, including a new condition addressing point source emissions to water, air or land and associated generic risk assessments.
The Environment Agency has secured £517,000 from United Utilities following sewage discharge permit breaches into the River Tame, with the money to fund local environmental improvements through Mersey Rivers Trust. The case forms part of a wider increase in enforcement activity across the water sector, alongside inspections and legally binding undertakings aimed at preventing repeat pollution incidents.
The Environment Agency has published updated business case templates for Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) capital grant claims. The templates are intended for local authorities and internal drainage boards, and are designed to support consistent, evidence-based submissions that meet the Agency’s assurance requirements.
The Environment Agency has updated guidance on appealing where a water company refuses a public sewer connection or disputes the timing of provision. The process involves first applying to the relevant sewerage undertaker, with appeals to the Environment Agency taking at least 12 months and sometimes longer in complex cases.
The Environment Agency has issued a regulatory position statement on temporary storage of waste temperature exchange equipment (WTEE) where national treatment capacity constraints may prevent sites from operating within normal storage limits. It states that enforcement action will not normally be taken if the specified conditions in the RPS are met, but the underlying legal requirements remain unchanged.
Southern Water has been fined £7.1 million after repeated illegal sewage discharges between 2019 and 2021 polluted coastal waters and forced beach closures in Kent. The Environment Agency said the incidents were preventable and highlighted failures in equipment maintenance, operational oversight and timely reporting to regulators.
The Environment Agency has secured a court Restriction Order to shut down an illegal waste site at Park Head Plantation in County Durham after reports of dumping on protected land. The order prevents further waste importation and access to the site for six months while criminal proceedings continue against those alleged to have operated the site and deposited waste.
The Environment Agency has issued Regulatory Position Statement RPS 336 on accepting non-hazardous filter cake waste from soil and aggregate washing facilities at landfill and deposit for recovery sites. It clarifies that the statement does not remove the need for an environmental permit, but sets out circumstances where enforcement action would not normally be taken if the stated requirements are met.
The Environment Agency has suspended waste acceptance at Seaton Meadows landfill in Seaton Carew after a survey found some areas had been overfilled beyond agreed tipping levels. The operator, SMLF Ltd, must stop bringing in waste immediately while it works to comply with its environmental permit, and the agency will continue monitoring the site.
