OEP finds Defra and EA may be failing to comply with law on WFD

(by Karma Loveday)

The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has identified possible failures by Defra and the Environment Agency (EA) to comply with the Water Framework Directive (WFD) Regulations. It has sent both authorities information notices setting out the details of the suspected failures.

These relate to the preparation, approval and implementation of programmes of measures under the River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) published in 2022. The notices also identify possible failures relating to the reasons provided for exemptions in the RBMPs, the public consultation process, and the requirement to prevent deterioration in the status of water bodies. Defra and the EA have two months to formally respond.

The OEP launched an investigation into compliance with the WFD regulations after publishing a report in May 2024 which found a number of issues with how they were being implemented. It found the RBMPs to be too generic, which was out of line with the regulations which require plans to be in place for individual water bodies. (Separately to the OEP investigation, the Court of Appeal ruled in April 2025 on the Pickering Fishery Association case, confirming that the WFD Regulations require specific plans for individual bodies of water).

The report also found the plans had been put in place despite low government confidence that their objectives could be achieved. These issues with implementation mean that key targets for improvement of water bodies by 2027 are highly likely to be missed.

Helen Venn, chief regulatory officer for the OEP, said: “We have been looking at whether the issues raised in our previous report on the implementation of the current WFD Regulations represent possible failures to comply with environmental law. We have concluded that they do. This is important, because clarifying what is now required of public authorities and identifying issues with compliance can ensure that good practice can be embedded into any new approaches and systems.

“It also highlights the need for urgent action to be taken now. We believe there are potential on-going failures to comply with environmental law that are impacting negatively on water quality today. While there is much focus on the future, the public authorities concerned must not lose sight of their obligations in the here-and-now.”