Bevan: Time to ‘carefully’ reform Water Framework Directive

James Bevan, chief executive of the Environment Agency, has come out in support of reforming the Water Framework Directive when the UK leaves the EU.

Speaking at a London Chamber of Commerce and Industry virtual event he said there will be an opportunity following Brexit to improve the country’s regulation to better serve the needs of the environment and population.

In a speech titled: ‘In praise of red tape’, Bevan said regulation, when done right, has the potential to not only protect people and the environment but to enhance it, which he argued the WFD has done.

The WFD has been the governing directive for the water sector since it was introduced in 2000 as a landmark piece of legislation that set high standards for improving the quality of waterways.

“There are lots of great things about the WFD, in particular, its recognition that water quality is perhaps the biggest single X factor for the environment; that water bodies need to be managed in an integrated way as part of catchments;” said Bevan. “And that the health of rivers is not just about the chemicals that should or shouldn’t be in them but their biology and hydromorphology: the depth, width, flow, river bank structure – all of which should respect nature as far as possible, rather than forcing rivers into engineered straitjackets from which they are all too likely to burst.”

For the positive change the directive has brought, Bevan said the directive should not be repealed but instead given “careful reform”.

Bevan said the legislation was “not perfect” due to its requirement for rivers to meet the standard in all four categories to get a certain grade. This means only 14 per cent of English rivers qualify for “good” status despite 79 per cent being judged to be “good” in individual categories.

He said this rule can lead to the inefficient allocation of time and resources.

His speech in defence of well-done regulation pointed out benefits to not only the environment but the businesses being regulated.

“If you think regulation is expensive, try not doing it,” he remarked, added that “responsible” industries welcome regulation and accept that if bills must be paid the polluter should foot them.

Bevan told the virtual audience he opposes regulation for the sake of it and doesn’t believe all human activity should be subject to such control.

“In fact, I would rather have fewer activities being regulated, better” rather than focus being lost from the crucial issue. “In regulation, as in so much else, less is more.”

You can read the full speech here: In praise of red tape: Getting regulation right