A Bill to provide for a category of protection for chalk streams for the purpose of providing additional protections from pollution, abstraction and other forms of environmental damage; and for connected purposes.
Mentions:
1: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green - Life peer) streams, which, as the Minister knows, are a precious resource. - Speech Link
2: Lord Douglas-Miller (Con - Life peer) In addition to reducing the burden of abstraction pressures, the Government are protecting chalk streams - Speech Link
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to introduce statutory protection for chalk streams.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have already brought forward changes to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act to help better protect chalk streams by adding chalk streams into the definitions of ‘environmental protection’ and ‘natural environment’ in the Act. This means that chalk streams must be considered when undertaking environmental assessments in the future, thereby recognising the value of these distinctive habitats. Also, chalk streams are now defined as priority sites in the government’s Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan with a target to improve 75% of storm overflows discharging to high priority sites by 2035.
We are working very closely with colleagues from the Environment Agency, the Chair of the Chalk Stream Restoration Group and the Wildlife Trust on the Chalk Stream Recovery Pack. The Recovery Pack will make a number of recommendations for government to tackle to restore and protect our chalk streams.
Found: Chalk Streams (Protection) Bill [AS INTRODUCED] CONTENTS 1 Creation of a category of protection
Mar. 27 2024
Source Page: Revitalising the Hamble BrookFound: wetland site, encompassing over 2,500 square metres of new wildlife habitat, thanks to the Chilterns Chalk
Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many licences for abstraction in chalk streams have been rescinded in each year since 2010.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A total of 110 licences affecting chalk streams have been revoked since 2010. A further 158 have been varied or reduced.
The abstraction licence changes have returned over 37 billion litres of water per year to chalk catchments and prevented a further 110 billion litres per year being abstracted.
Number of abstraction licences, affecting chalk streams, that have been changed up to 30.09.23 | |||
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Year | Number of licences varied or reduced | Number of licences revoked | Total |
2010 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
2011 | 2 | 10 | 12 |
2012 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
2013 | 5 | 3 | 8 |
2014 | 14 | 6 | 20 |
2015 | 30 | 5 | 35 |
2016 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
2017 | 24 | 45 | 69 |
2018 | 43 | 16 | 59 |
2019 | 5 | 12 | 17 |
2020 | 9 | 5 | 14 |
2021 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
2022 | 1 | 1 | |
2023 | 10 | 3 | 13 |
Total | 158 | 110 | 268 |
Asked by: Danny Kruger (Conservative - Devizes)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of septic tanks on the cleanliness of rivers; and if he will make it his policy to ban septic tanks (a) in the catchment areas of chalk streams and (b) near other watercourses.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Large numbers of properties in rural areas of England rely on on-site water treatment systems as they are not connected to mains sewerage systems. Septic tanks, the most common on-site sewage treatment systems in these areas, are regulated to ensure they are maintained properly and do not cause pollution. Through our long-term Plan for Water, the Government is committed to delivering a clean water environment for people and nature, including the impact of private sewerage systems on chalk streams. This aligns with our broader commitment to review private sewage discharges regulation to manage environmental risk.
Mentions:
1: Lord Dubs (Lab - Life peer) Does the Minister agree that on seeing on our television sets the excrement coming into our streams and - Speech Link
2: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bshp - Bishops) example, run-off from agricultural land—which is devastating many of our rivers, including the important chalk - Speech Link