The government of the United Kingdom promises to raise the cap to $243 million (£250 million) for the Environment Agency on fining water companies that contribute to sewage pollution. 

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SEAFORD, ENGLAND - AUGUST 17: A jetty beneath which raw sewage had been reportedly been discharged after heavy rain on August 17, 2022 in Seaford, England. The Environment Agency has issued pollution alerts across the UK after recent heavy rainfall and flooding have affected water quality. Sewers overflow into the sea and rivers when treatment plants are overwhelmed by torrential rain otherwise it would spill into streets or back up into toilets. Environmental campaign group Surfers Against Sewage reported that raw sewage had been released into the waters at beaches in Sussex, Cornwall, Devon, Essex, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Northumberland and Cumbria.

Based on a report by The Guardian, Variable Monetary Penalties (VMPs) were introduced 12 years ago, and it enables the agency the right to fine groups who violate serious environmental offenses. As a part of the regulations, once the Environment Agency has fined a certain group, it will not go through the expensive and lengthy proceedings.

Despite having no enlisted sanctions against water companies that violate the VMPs, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Ranil Jayawardena announced that it would increase its cap from £250,000 to £250 million.

According to The Water Report, the decision of the civil cap increase is a push for companies to innovate infrastructure delivery, which will lessen pollution occurrence and may lead up to securing water supplies. 

He stated, "This will act as a greater deterrent and push water companies to do more, and faster, when it comes to investing in infrastructure and improving the quality of our water, and the polluter must pay." He also criticized the leakage from the water industry and pollution performance.

Jayawardena announced this in his Conservative Party conference speech last week.

Also read: Planet Patrol Leads 'Autumn Water Watch,' an Initiative to Save UK Waterways

Critics Regarding the Increase

An insider from the Environment Agency said that the rise of the civil cap is useless as he stated, "Punishments are only relevant if you have a regulator who is willing to impose them."

Aside from this, Director of Freeths Law Firm and the Former Head of Legal Services of Natural England Richard Broadbent said that it seems odd for a government to increase its civil cap for water pollution penalties when "the regulator does not favor, and does not directly assist it in terms of managing its operational costs."

EA's Response

A spokesperson from the agency said that VMPs have only limited use against water companies because of its current $240,000 cap. This prevented the agency from using a VMP whenever they thought the warrant deserved a higher fine. With the $240 million cap, it enables the agency to issue VMPs in more cases with a much greater impact. 

Meanwhile, the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs has declined to comment regarding the lack of VMPs. 

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Written by Inno Flores