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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of potential merits of recovering the costs of treating chemical pollutants in (a) drinking water, (b) wastewater and (c) high risk sites in England from the producers of those substances.

Defra is committed to the ‘polluter pays’ principle and regularly reviews ways to improve its implementation and efficacy.

The Government can already seek cost recovery for contaminated land so that the responsible party (typically the polluter or current owner/occupier) bears the financial burden of cleaning up the land. The Environment Act 1990 Part 2A outlines this principle, with local councils having a statutory duty to recover reasonable costs incurred for remediation. Where contaminated land is designated a special site and the Environment agency is the lead regulator, it also has similar cost recovery powers.

The quality of drinking water in England is exceptionally high and among the best in the world. Water companies and local authorities have statutory duties to carry out risk assessments and to sample drinking water supplies for any contaminants they believe may cause the supply to be unwholesome.