River Action seeks judicial review agains the Environment Agency for Wye agricultural pollution

River Action has applied for a High Court judicial review against the Environment Agency (EA) for failing to apply the Farming Rules for Water on the River Wye.

The charity claimed that the EA is complicit in allowing destructive levels of nutrients to leach into the River Wye, causing significant widespread ecological damage to the river.

The Farming Rules for Water prohibit applications of organic manure or manufactured fertiliser to farmland in a way that would raise nutrient levels above what is “needed by the crop and the soil”.

In addition, River Action argued the EA is not applying the rules in a way that fulfils the Habitats Directive, and therefore is also in breach of the Habitats Regulations.

The charity explained that rapid growth in the region’s intensive poultry industry over the last decade has resulted in huge volumes of manure being spread on agricultural land. This has led to substantial surplus of phosphorus in the soils of the river catchment. These contaminants subsequently leach into the river, resulting in prolonged algal blooms that turn the river an opaque green, suffocating plants and wildlife.

The Wye is a designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC) to protect the river’s once-famous extensive Ranunculus river weed beds. However according to River Action, over 90% of the river’s Ranunculus has now been lost, smothered by the algal blooms. Consequently, the river is not meeting the SAC conservation status specified by the Habitats Directive.

Charles Watson, chair and founder of River Action, said: “The severe ecological collapse of the iconic River Wye is one of the great environmental scandals of our times. The sickening tragedy is that this could have been seriously mitigated had the Environment Agency enforced existing environmental regulations to prevent the excess application of animal waste on land that was already oversaturated with nutrients. The irony is that the same government that introduced these regulations is giving the EA explicit guidance not to enforce them. This unlawful conduct of the EA has to stop now.”

River Action is represented by Leigh Day environment team solicitor Ricardo Gama, who said:

“The Farming Rules for Water were introduced in 2018 specifically to deal with the issue of agricultural pollution in rivers like the Wye but from documents we’ve seen it’s clear that the Environment Agency is choosing to apply the rules in a way that is inconsistent with their own interpretation of how the rules are supposed to work.

"This means that manure – essentially an industrial waste product from meat and dairy production – is allowed to flow into our waterways with impunity. Our client hopes this claim will force the EA to reassess their approach and start applying the rules properly.”