The Environment Agency has issued a Notice of Liability under the Environmental Damage (Prevention and Remediation) (England) Regulations 2015 demanding an operator provide remediation proposals for its pollution of a river.

The pre-Christmas Liability Notice issued 20thDecember 2018, is only the second issued since the Environmental Damage Regulations came into force, and it required that the operator develop plans to repair the environmental damage caused when ammonia entered the River Witham in Lincolnshire, in March 2018. The incident killed at least 10,000 fish and was the worst river pollution ever recorded in Lincolnshire. The EA is still investigating the incident under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016, and it will consider whether further action is needed under that regime when its investigation is complete.

The Environmental Damage (Prevention and Remediation) (England) Regulations 2015 implement the Environmental Liability Directive 2004 (ELD 2004) in England. They give the EA the power to issue a notice of liability informing a polluter that it is responsible for remediating the environmental damage caused by its activities and requiring it to submit proposals for remediation measures. The polluter has 28 days from service of the notice to appeal. Once the EA has received remediation proposals from the polluter it will consult with interested parties and issue a remediation notice detailing the remediation measures and the time period by which they must be undertaken