Southern Water fined £330,000 for stream pollution that killed 2,000 fish – The Guardian

‘A water company has been fined £330,000 after raw sewage escaped into a stream in Hampshire for up to 20 hours, killing about 2,000 fish including brown trout.’

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The Guardian, 27th February 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Legal challenge over plans to relax sewage laws for housebuilders in England – The Guardian

‘The government is facing a legal challenge over plans to permit housebuilders in England to allow sewage pollution “through the back door”.’

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The Guardian, 13th February 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Water bosses in England and Wales face bonus bans for illegal sewage discharges – The Guardian

‘Ministers are to ban bonuses for water company bosses in England and Wales who fail to prevent illegal sewage spills that pollute rivers, lakes and seas.’

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The Guardian, 11th February 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Government in court over chicken poo in River Wye – BBC News

Posted February 8th, 2024 in agriculture, government departments, judicial review, news, pollution, water by sally

‘Campaigners are taking the Environment Agency to court, accusing it of not stopping chicken manure polluting the River Wye.’

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BBC News, 8th February 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Mother of girl whose death was linked to air pollution sues UK government – The Guardian

‘The mother of a nine-year-old girl who became the first person in the UK to have air pollution cited on their death certificate has launched a high court claim against the government.’

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The Guardian, 25th January 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

New law requires 22% of cars sold in UK to be zero-emission – The Independent

Posted January 4th, 2024 in electricity, news, pollution, road traffic, transport by sally

‘New rules requiring car manufacturers to sell a minimum proportion of zero-emission vehicles has come into force, according to the government’s Department for Transport (DfT).’

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The Independent, 4th January 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Envrionmental Law News Update – Six Pump Court

‘COP 28 is due to begin on Thursday and already it is not without controversy. First leaked documents have, according to the BBC, revealed plans that the United Arab Emirates had as host of the UN climate talks to discuss fossil fuel deals with 15 nations, including commercial opportunities for its state renewable energy company with the UK.’

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Six Pump Court, 30th November 2023

Source: 6pumpcourt.co.uk

Defra’s generic plan for river clean up unlawful – local focus on water bodies needed – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted December 19th, 2023 in environmental protection, fisheries, news, pollution, regulations, water by tracey

‘This interesting case concerns a problem endemic to the manner of regulating water bodies under the Water Framework Directive and the regulations passed under it.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 15th December 2023

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Chris Packham launches legal challenge over UK’s watering down of climate policies – The Guardian

‘Chris Packham has filed a high court legal challenge to the UK government over its decision to weaken key climate policies.’

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The Guardian, 4th December 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Elf Bar vape adverts banned in UK over ‘greener’ recycling claims – The Guardian

Posted November 29th, 2023 in advertising, complaints, environmental protection, news, ombudsmen, pollution by sally

‘Adverts for the vaping company Elf Bar have been banned after using the slogan “recycling for a greener future” over concern they were misleading because of the environmental damage of discarded vapes.’

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The Guardian, 29th November 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Shell to face human rights claims in UK over chronic oil pollution in Niger delta – The Guardian

Posted November 24th, 2023 in damages, energy, environmental health, human rights, news, pollution by tracey

‘Thousands of Nigerian villagers can bring human rights claims against the fossil fuel company Shell over the chronic oil pollution of their water sources and destruction of their way of life, the high court in London has ruled.’

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The Guardian, 23rd November 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Environmental Law News Update – Six Pump Court

‘“The absence of a suitable test or target for the reduction of Scope 3 emissions”: High Court challenge fails, and the Government Calls for Evidence”.’

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Six Pump Court, 31st October 2023

Source: 6pumpcourt.co.uk

River Wye: Judicial review granted over agricultural pollution – BBC News

‘A judge has granted a judicial review into the way the Environment Agency (EA) in England enforces agricultural pollution laws.’

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BBC News, 20th October 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Targets for reduction in sewage outflow not unlawful, says High Court – UK Human Rights Blog

‘The King (on the application of Wildfish Conservation v Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Environment Agency (Defendant) and the Water Services Regulation Authority (Interested Parties) [2023] EWHC 2285 (Admin). In 2022, there were over three hundred thousand incidents of overflow into coastal waters, freshwater rivers and estuaries from sewerage works in the UK, following heavy rainfall. The most common cause of the overflows studied was rainwater entering sewers with insufficient capacity.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 28th September 2023

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Supreme Court spells out the limitations of nuisance – 4KBW

‘Georgia Whiting and Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk report on a Supreme Court ruling on a major oil spill.’

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4KBW, 13th July 2023

Source: www.4kbw.co.uk

Public could receive hundreds of millions as water firms face sewage lawsuit – The Guardian

‘The public could receive hundreds of millions of pounds in compensation in the first class action against water companies which are alleged to have failed to reveal the true scale of raw sewage discharges, and abused their position as privatised monopolies.’

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The Guardian, 9th August 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Loophole lets farmers pollute England’s rivers with excess manure – report – The Guardian

‘A loophole in pollution legislation allows farmers to pollute rivers by spreading excess manure, an investigation has found, with those acting unlawfully not facing any action in most cases.’

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The Guardian, 13th July 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

ULEZ expansion: Low emission zone challenge to start at High Court – BBC News

Posted July 4th, 2023 in local government, London, news, pollution, road traffic, tolls by sally

‘A judicial review into Sadiq Khan’s plans to expand London’s Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is due to get under way at the High Court.’

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BBC News, 4th July 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Anglian Water ad banned by regulator over pollution record – The Guardian

‘An ad campaign by Anglian Water extolling how it cleans water by creating wildlife-friendly wetlands has been banned for not telling consumers about its history of releasing sewage into the environment.’

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The Guardian, 13th June 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Supreme Court will not hear appeal on largest-ever group action – Legal Futures

‘The Supreme Court has refused mining giant BHP permission to appeal the Court of Appeal’s decision allowing the largest group action ever to go ahead.’

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Legal Futures, 12th June 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk