§ Mr. WhittingdaleTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what measures have been taken to control the discharge of industrial effluent into the North sea; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AtkinsUnder the Water Resources Act 1991, discharges of effluent to rivers and coastal waters require the consent of the relevant regulatory authority—the National Rivers Authority for England and Wales. Consents are designed to ensure that the receiving waters meet environmental quality standards. In addition, the Environmental Protection Act 1990 introduced a system of integrated pollution control for industrial processes with the most potential for polluting releases. Tight control of discharges has led to a progressive reduction in United Kingdom inputs of the most hazardous substances to the North sea, in line with international commitments made at North sea conferences.
§ Mr. WhittingdaleTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what measures he is taking to monitor chemical pollution of the North sea; and if he will make a statement.
688W
§ Mr. AtkinsThe marine pollution monitoring management group, consisting of scientists from the relevant Government Departments and regulatory authorities, has prepared a national monitoring plan, which is implemented by the agencies with statutory monitoring responsibilities. This is based on a network of inshore, estuarine and offshore monitoring sites. This provides comprehensive information on the seas around the United Kingdom and formed the basis of the United Kingdom input to the monitoring master plan of the North sea task force, which was established by the North sea states,inter alia, to prepare the North sea quality status report, which was published in March this year.