HC Deb 01 February 1971 vol 810 cc266-7W
Mr. Deakins

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to introduce legislation to prevent local authorities from discharging untreated sewage into the sea.

Mr. Peter Walker

The Working Party on Sewage Disposal, after a thorough appraisal of the methods of sewage disposal to the sea, recommended legislation to give the river authorities control over discharges to the sea. I am now considering this recommendation and will be making an announcement of government policy on it. The working party also concluded that, after screening or comminution, sewage could be discharged without hazard to health or amenity through diffusers on long outfalls whose siting had been determined after a comprehensive study of local factors.