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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department plans to take to maintain protection for coastal towns from the sea dumping of waste after the UK leaves the EU.

The UK’s Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (MCAA) includes a marine licensing regime, under Part 4, for most marine activities. The Act regulates dumping of waste at sea including navigational dredging and disposal under the Waste Framework Directive.

The Prime Minister has announced a Repeal Bill to convert EU law into domestic British law, to provide certainty for consumers, workers and businesses by maintaining existing laws.

As domestic legislation the MCAA will continue to be in place when the UK has left the EU. There is no current intention to change the regulatory framework in respect of the dumping of waste in the marine environment.

In Scotland this is covered by the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.