Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what regulatory controls water companies must comply with when disposing of sludge from drinking water treatment to help protect the environment from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

There are several sets of regulations which regulate sludge output from water companies. The Sludge Use in Agriculture Regulations (1989) regulate against industrial contaminants in sludge which is spread to land and is supported by the Sewage Sludge in Agriculture Code of Practice, which sets out the parameters you must meet in order to spread sludge to land. These parameters include which treatment type the sludge has undergone, that it has been sufficiently tested, and further requirements to protect the environment and avoid public nuisance. The storage and use of mixed or co-treated materials that contain sludge is regulated under the Environmental Permitting Regime (2016).

Waste regulatory controls apply to water clarification waste. This means there will be a requirement to obtain an environmental permit from the Environment Agency for the disposal of sludge from drinking water treatment. The environmental permit provides the regulatory controls to that the waste is disposed of or recovered without endangering human health and without using processes or methods which could harm the environment.