The Memo: Muddy waters: Council performs U-turn on £150 environmental fine, while water companies may face harsher penalties

A London council recently reversed its decision to fine a woman who poured coffee down a drain. Burcu Yesilyurt, a resident of Kew in Southwest London, poured a small amount of coffee into a drain near a bus stop because she was worried that she might spill coffee on the bus on her way to work. Then, three enforcement officers approached her near Richmond station and gave her a fine of £150 for breaching Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Richmond-upon-Thames Council has since cancelled the fine, saying it believed Yesilyurt’s appeal against the Fixed Penalty Notice would likely be successful. She has agreed not to do it again.  

Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990makes it illegal to dispose of or deposit waste in a way that is likely to pollute land or water, including pouring liquids into drains on the street. Yesilyurt claims she was not aware that what she did was illegal. She has called for the law to be made clearer by placing signs near bins and bus stops. 

Elsewhere, Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds has announced that it will soon become quicker and easier to fine English water companies for sewage spills. A six-week public consultation on the plans began on Wednesday 22 October. 

Under new proposals, water companies would face fines of up to £20,000 for minor offences, and the process for punishing more serious offences will be simplified. Minor offences include rule breaches like failure to properly report spill data, failure to report a significant pollution incident within four hours and using emergency overflow outlets to discharge sewage more than three times per year. The proposals will also cover failure to treat sewage to the required standard and maintenance failures. 

The Environment Agency has been criticised for not taking action in most cases of sewage spillage. A BBC report discovered that the Environment Agency attended only 13% of reported pollution incidents and often relied on information from water companies. 

The government estimates that the new system will raise £50-67m per year. It says the cost of fines won’t add to customers’ water bills, and shareholders will have to cover the costs instead. The maximum fine the Environment Agency could issue without going to court would be increased to a maximum of £500,000. 

These new proposals focus on minor offences, but water companies will still be taken to court for the most serious offences. However, the government has also suggested reducing the burden of proof from “beyond all reasonable doubt,” as is the norm for criminal proceedings, to “on the balance of probabilities,” which is used in civil cases. This reduced burden of proof is already in place for certain offences due to the passing of the Water (Special Measures) Act in February this year.