§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress has been made in encouraging industries which discharge waste into the River Mersey to establish treatment facilities.
§ Mr. Heathcoat-Amory[holding answer 16 July 1990]: Encouraging the proper discharge of waste into the Mersey by private industry is a key aim of the Government's Mersey Basin campaign. The campaign is making good progress and many of the known major dischargers have programmes of remedial work and effluent management plans. As an example my hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment and Countryside opened the third and final phase of an effluent treatment programme at Bridgewater Paper Company in Ellesmere Port on 2 July. At the national level the National Rivers Authority is already the regulatory body and watchdog to safeguard water resources; and the Environmental Protection Bill when enacted will provide for continuing improvements in emission standards as techniques and technology improve.