Consultations with the Environment Agency (June 2009)

The Environment Agency are currently undertaking consultations relating to the EU Water Framework Directive.

The Water Framework Directive sets a number of different objectives. In summary the environmental objectives for surface waters are;

• Prevent deterioration in status of water bodies

• Aim to achieve ‘good’ ecological and chemical status in water bodies by 2015

• For water bodies that are designated as artificial or heavily modified, aim to achieve good ecological potential by 2015

• Comply with objectives and standards for protected areas

• Reduce pollution from priority substances and cease discharges, emissions and losses of priority hazardous substances.

 

For the status objectives, the Directive sets a target of aiming to achieve at least ‘good’ status in all waters. For surface waters, good status means good ecological status on the scale high, good, moderate, poor and bad; and good chemical status means achieving the required standards for relevant substances.

The attached document summarises the EA assessment of the Colne estuary and the proposed action under the Anglian River Basin district plan. The Agency also request feedback to a number of specific questions, these are also listed with the submitted CEP responses.

The document is fairly complex with numerous Annexes detailing assessment and proposed actions and I have tried to summarise as best I can. In a nutshell the Colne estuary will fail to meet the Frameworks objectives for good ecological status by 2015.

For full details of the River Basin Management Plan for the Anglian River Basin district consultation based on the Water Framework Directive see; http://wfdconsultation.environment-agency.gov.uk/wfdcms/en/anglian/Intro.aspx

The response document submitted on bahalf of the CEP can be viewed here.