Government may have broken law over sewage – watchdog – BBC News
‘The UK’s environment watchdog suspects the government and regulators have broken the law over how it regulates sewage releases.’
BBC News, 12th September 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: water
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.’
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.’
The Guardian, 13th July 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
Landmark Sizewell C ruling instructive for projects of all shapes and sizes – OUT-LAW.com
‘The High Court’s ruling that the UK government’s approval of the proposed Sizewell C nuclear power plant was lawful contains valuable reminders on how projects of all shapes and sizes should approach environmental assessments.’
OUT-LAW.com, 6th July 2023
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
Cardiff: Hailey Park sewage pumping station legal bid starts – BBC News
‘A judicial review of plans to build a sewage pumping station in a popular park has begun.’
BBC News, 29th June 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
New Judgment: Commissioners for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs v SSE Generation Ltd [2023] UKSC 17 – UKSC Blog
‘In this post, Jack Prytherch, Of Counsel in the Tax Disputes & Investigations team at CMS, comments on the Supreme Court’s decision in HMRC v SSE Generation Ltd [2023] UKSC 17, which was handed down on 17 May 2023. The issue before the Supreme Court was the extent to which SSE Generation Ltd (“SSE”) was entitled to claim capital allowances on expenditure incurred when constructing the hydro-electric power station at Glendoe, Fort Augustus in Scotland (the “Glendoe Scheme”). The CMS Tax Disputes & Investigations team was pleased to have advised SSE on this case. Counsel for SSE were Jonathan Peacock KC and Michael Ripley.’
UKSC Blog, 27th June 2023
Source: ukscblog.com
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.’
The Guardian, 13th June 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
New Judgment: Commissioners for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs v SSE Generation Ltd [2023] UKSC 17 – UKSC Blog
‘SSE Generation Ltd, the respondent, claimed capital allowances on expenditure incurred when constructing a hydro-electric power station at Glendoe, Fort Augustus in Scotland. Such allowances may be deducted from income for the purpose of calculating a company’s trading profits subject to corporation tax. Commissioners for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (“HMRC”) disputed certain allowances claimed by SSE for tax years 31 March 2006 to 31 March 2012 on the basis that in their view certain relevant assets did not give rise to allowable expenditure under the Capital Allowances Act 2001 (the “Act”).’
UKSC Blog, 17th May 2023
Source: ukscblog.com
River Lugg damage caused by convicted farmer to cost £700k to fix – BBC News
‘Fixing damage caused by a farmer who illegally ripped up trees from the banks of a river may cost about £700,000, the Environment Agency says.’
BBC News, 23rd April 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Farmer jailed for ‘ecological vandalism’ of River Lugg in Herefordshire – BBC News
‘A farmer who hired diggers and bulldozers to illegally rip up trees along the banks of a river has been jailed for 12 months.’
BBC News, 20th April 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Breaking the Mould: Water Ingress Building Defects and the Scourge of Black Mould – 3PB
‘”Black mould” is a very serious, sometimes deadly, consequence of water ingress building defects. Water ingress building defects are prolific, and issues and effects of mould growth are disturbingly common, particularly coming to the end of winter in Britain.’
3PB, 6th March 2023
Source: www.3pb.co.uk
Watchdog to block shareholder payouts if UK water companies miss targets – The Guardian
‘The UK water regulator is to use new powers to block companies from shareholder payouts if they fail to hit performance and environmental targets.’
The Guardian, 20th March 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
Raw sewage in the Court of Appeal – UK Human Rights Blog
‘The pumping of raw, untreated sewage into Britain’s waterways is one of the defining political issues of the day. Its potency as a legal issue, however, is limited. That, at least, is the outcome of R (Wild Justice) v OFWAT [2023] EWCA Civ 28.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 21st February 2023
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
High Court agrees to hear ancient common law argument in claim government sewage overflow plan is unlawful – Local Government Lawyer
‘The High Court has agreed to hear two judicial review claims of the government’s plan to reduce the discharge of untreated sewage into bodies of water in England, including one claim which argues a seven hundred-year-old common law right has been ignored.’
Local Government Lawyer, 15th February 2023
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
High court grants hearing on ‘weak’ plan to cut England sewage discharges – The Guardian
‘Campaigners are to make a high court challenge to the government’s plan to reduce raw sewage discharges into rivers and seas in England, arguing it does not go far enough.’
The Guardian, 14th February 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
Jet Skis: New rules crack down on reckless water scooter use – BBC News
‘Welsh wildlife experts have welcomed measures to crack down on reckless water scooter use.’
BBC News, 29th January 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Claimants say Government sewage overflow plan contrary to ancient common law rights in pre-action letter – Local Government Lawyer
‘A surfer and an oyster supplier have joined with the Good Law Project to threaten a judicial review of a Government plan they argue will allow the discharge of untreated sewage into water bodies to continue for decades, breaching their “ancient” common law rights under the Public Trust Doctrine (PTD).’
Local Government Lawyer, 31st October 2022
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Give legal rights to animals, trees and rivers, say experts – The Guardian
‘Granting legal rights and protections to non-human entities such as animals, trees and rivers is essential if countries are to tackle climate breakdown and biodiversity loss, experts have said. The authors of a report titled Law in the Emerging Bio Age say legal frameworks have a key part to play in governing human interactions with the environment and biotechnology.’
The Guardian, 10th October 2022
Source: www.theguardian.com
Environment Agency told to protect wetlands in landmark court case – The Guardian
‘The high court has ordered the Environment Agency to reduce water abstraction and protect England’s rare wetland habitats, in a landmark case that confirms that European nature conservation laws remain enforceable despite Britain having left the EU.’
The Guardian, 7th September 2022
Source: www.theguardian.com
Conservationists seek judicial review of UK sewage discharge plan – The Guardian
‘The UK government’s plan to cut millions of hours of raw sewage discharges by water companies each year is facing a judicial review on the grounds that it is unlawful.’
The Guardian, 31st August 2022
Source: www.theguardian.com
