§ 74. Mr. Michael McNair-Wilsonasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he is satisfied that standards set out by the Royal Commission of more than 50 years ago for effluents discharged into rivers are adequate for present needs; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Denis HowellCurrent legislation for the prevention of river pollution depends upon the assessment by the river authority of the standard required of an effluent according to the circumstances of the river at the point of discharge and the use to be made of it downstream. No one standard would be suitable for all cases. But the Royal Commission standard has gained general acceptance as a norm for sewage effluents, with the onus on the discharger to justify a less rigorous standard in a particular case and on the river authority to justify one which is more rigorous and I consider it to be adequate for that purpose.
I am sending the hon. Member a copy of a circular and memorandum on this subject issued in 1966.