OEP to investigate Defra and the EA for WFD compliance failures

The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has launched an investigation into possible failures by Defra and the Environment Agency to comply with the Water Framework Directive (WFD) Regulations 2017.

The move follows its May 2024 report which found key targets for the improvement of water bodies by 2027 were highly likely to be missed. The follow-up investigation will look at whether issues raised in the report – such as that plans are too generic and therefore don’t address specific issues at individual sites, and that plans are put in place despite low government confidence that their objectives can be achieved – represent failures to comply with environmental law.

The OEP noted that Defra has broadly accepted the findings of the May report, but said the department had not provided direct assurances that the issues identified would be addressed in a timely manner.

If failures are found, the investigation will aim to accelerate progress to achieving the environmental outcomes for water bodies, inform any changes or developments to legislation, and raise public awareness and participation in the process to improve accountability.

Responding, Richard Benwell, chief executive of Wildlife and Countryside Link, welcomed the investigation and said he expected “that it will reveal years of failure by successive governments to take the action needed to clean up English waters. Now it's up to this Government to kick regulators into action, multiply public and private investment in clean water, and structure the incentives and enforcement needed to clean up agriculture, chemical pollution, and the water sector in line with the law.”

Benwell added: “The lack of a long-term target for overall water quality after 2027 is also a massive gap in English environmental law. Defra should work quickly to set a new overarching target, incorporating new pollutants as well as public health objectives, with regular milestones so that action can never again be put off again until it's too late.”