§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what powers water companies have to divert sewage into rivers; and if she will make a statement. [139187]
§ Mr. MorleyWater companies have duties under section 94 of the Water Industry Act 1991 to provide and maintain sewers to ensure that they are effectively drained, and the sewer contents are effectively dealt with by treatment works or otherwise.
Consents to discharge sewage effluents, sometimes in emergencies, into controlled waters are subject to conditions and are issued by the Environment Agency under the Water Resources Act 1991 (WRA91).
In certain situations water companies may have to make discharges other than in accordance with a consent. In these circumstances, the WRA91 provides two distinct defences to offences of polluting controlled waters under section 85 of the WRA91.
Section 89(1) states that a person shall not be guilty of an offence of polluting controlled waters if the discharge is made in an emergency to avoid danger to life or health, if steps are taken to minimise the polluting effects of the discharge, and if details of the incident are provided to the Agency as soon as possible after it occurs.
Section 87(2) states that a sewerage undertaker shall not be guilty of an offence if the undertaker could not reasonably be expected to prevent the discharge into the sewer or works, if a discharge into the sewer is caused by another person and if the undertaker was not bound to receive it, or if it was, the conditions of the discharge were not observed.
§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) how many recorded incidents there have been in each year since 1997 of water companies diverting sewage into rivers under section 89 of the Water Resources Act 1991; what the location was; and what the volume of sewage released was in each case; [139188]
907W(2) if she will list the incidents under investigation by the Environment Agency relating to cases where water companies have diverted sewage into rivers; what the location was; which water company was involved; and what volume was released in each case; [139189]
(3) what estimate she has made of the total cost in each of the last five years of cleaning up rivers as a result of incidents where water companies have diverted sewage into rivers. [139190]
§ Mr. MorleyThe information requested is not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.