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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2014 to Question 208678, what guidance her Department issues on the meaning of Best Available Technology to remove phosphates from water.

Neither Defra nor the Environment Agency has issued guidance on the meaning of Best Available Technology to remove phosphates from sewage.

In order to meet the Environmental Quality Standards required by the Water Framework Directive, the Environment Agency sets permit limits for sewage discharge works. The appropriate technology employed to achieve those permit limits is a matter for the operator and is not specified by the Environment Agency.