Pickering water quality case to have national ramifications as OEP allowed to intervene

The Court of Appeal has granted permission for the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) to intervene in a case concerning water quality regulations, between the Pickering Fishery Association (PFA) and the Defra secretary of state.

The court is due to hear an appeal on 14-15 January against a November 2023 High Court ruling which went in favour of the PFA and Fish Legal in their case against the environment secretary and Environment Agency (EA) regarding water quality action in the Upper Costa Beck.

In November’s Judicial Review, Mrs Justice Lieven ruled that the Government and regulator had failed in their mandatory legal duties to review, update and put in place measures to restore the polluted trout and grayling river, under the Water Framework Directive.

Fish Legal, acting on behalf of the PFA, brought a legal challenge to the Government’s December 2022 River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) for the Humber district, as signed off by the secretary of state. They argued the plan lacked the legally required measures necessary to restore the Upper Costa Beck, such as a review and tightening of inadequate discharge permits and other authorisations to tackle the root causes of the fish failure, including recurrent sewage spills. The Court ordered the EA to re-work the Humber RBMP.

What started as a local issue has effectively become a national test case. The OEP highlighted that the appeal has wider ramifications for what should be contained in planned programmes of measures to achieve environmental objectives for water bodies across England. Through its intervention, it plans to highlight the importance of clarity in the law to promote positive outcomes for English water bodies.

Fish Legal last week launched its #EveryRiverCounts campaign to raise funding to fight the case. It said: “All failing waterbodies need specific actions to restore them to good health. That’s what we’ll be fighting for in court. This case is not just about the Costa Beck. It is about every river and lake across the country, however big or small… We want to see them all thriving with life and teeming with fish. We have had enough of empty government promises and spin over substance. We are tired of excuses for inaction and endless bureaucratic drift.”