HC Deb 07 December 1988 vol 143 cc199-200W
Mr. Hanley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he is yet in a position to make a further statement on his policies for improving the performance of sewage treatment works in England and Wales.

Mr. Howard

Yes. There will be capital programmes involving expenditure of £900 million to £1,000 million designed to bring substandard works into compliance with their legal limits by March 1992. But in some cases, because of the scale of the design and construction work which is necessary, it will not be possible to complete the work by this date. In those cases, completion will be achieved as soon as practically possible thereafter. The Government will be discussing with water authorities the detailed timetables for their programmes.

Applications for temporary variations in consent conditions will be considered in cases where improvement works are programmed for completion by March 1992. This is the best way of securing rapid completion of major investment programmes while protecting river quality.

Upper tier conditions in time-limited consents will also be introduced as a new maximum limit for effluent standards. These will be set at levels which ensure the protection of the receiving waters against excessive discharges. Water authorities exceeding their limits will be at risk of prosecution.