River Wye pollution: Judge releases verdict on River Action UK's landmark case to save iconic River Wye from 'sickening' pollution

The court’s judgement has been released today (Friday 24 May) on River Action’s legal case against the Environment Agency and Defra. The charity took the EA and Defra to court on 7 and 8 February, arguing that both had acted unlawfully in failing to enforce important environmental regulations, such as the Farming Rules for Water (FRfW), and in doing so failed to protect the River Wye from huge levels of diffuse agricultural pollution. 

Ahead of the legal challenge, the founder of charity River Action said the River Wye is “almost dead” and “we can’t stand back and let this happen”. Founder and Chairman of River Action UK Charles Watson, told NationalWorld that the “laws have never been enforced” to protect the river and a “critical” one hasn't, which is “that it is an offence to spread manure and fertiliser that the soil cannot naturally absorb.” He added that the “river is dying” and the charity has one “simple request” for the Environment Agency to “enforce the law you introduced to protect our natural amenities from the filth and destruction that is happening and being put into them”.

At the heart of the judicial review were regulations known as the farming rules for water which were introduced in 2018. They state that farmers must make sure that fertiliser does not get into watercourses and that they should not put more on fields than is needed.

River Action said the Environment Agency deliberately ignored the rules and allowed the farmers to apply excessive amounts of manure to fields, creating nutrient rich run-off that found its way into the River Wye. However, the Environment Agency told the court that it is “taking a great number of steps” to protect the River Wye from agricultural pollution and there are “numerous different factors” affecting the quality of the river that “are not in control of the agency”. 

Today the judgement of the court case has been released. The judge has ruled that farming practices will have to change so that farmers obey the Farming Rules for Water. 

The judge dismissed the claim for judicial review on all three grounds, but he found that with the changes made to the EA’s enforcement practices during the course of the proceedings, the EA was compliant with the law. However, these changes were only made as a result of River Action’s legal claim.

The judge found: “It is undoubtedly unfortunate, and has not assisted the defendant’s enforcement activities, that there has been a conflict in the interpretation of the 2018 Regulations between the defendant [The EA] and the interested party [DEFRA] . However, a significant by-product of these proceedings is, firstly, that that difference of opinion has been bought into the public domain for determination, and, secondly, that the defendant’s internal documentation (including for instance the FAQ’s) have been revisited, revised and refined to ensure that they have at their foundation the defendant’s interpretation of the 2018 Regulations. No doubt the clarification of the correct interpretation of the 2018 Regulations comprised within this judgment will provide further assistance in future.”

River Action’s chairman and founder Charles Watson said: “We clearly have a number of reasons to be pleased with today’s judgement. River Action was deemed to have done the right thing in bringing this case to court. River Action’s interpretation of the law was considered by the judge. The judge has said farming practices must change; and, most significantly, the environmental damage perpetrated by intensive farming practices has been acknowledged and that is thanks to River Action bringing its claim.”

He added: “While the judge states the latter point is grounds to justify to reject River Action’s belief that the EA has acted unlawfully, we remain concerned that there is widespread evidence that agricultural regulations are still being broken across the Wye catchment and that the EA is still not being held accountable for its failure to enforce the law. River Action is simply not prepared to sit back and continue to watch these injustices to our rivers continue. Accordingly, we are taking immediate advice with regards to appealing the judgement.”

River Action is represented by Leigh Day environment team solicitor Ricardo Gama, who added: “The judge has found that the Environment Agency’s enforcement policies are now lawful, but he has also noted that significant improvements were made to the policies to address the issues which River Action’s case has brought to light. The judge has said that River Action was right in their interpretation of the law and he welcomed the extensive evidence which River Action put forward of farmers who do the right thing and farm in a way that respects the rules. 

“River Action hopes that the important clarification to the law contained in this judgement will help regulators, farmers and communities understand their legal duties. However, they are concerned with aspects of the judgement and are considering an appeal.”