Environment Agency quizzed on sewage and other issues
Sewage discharges by water companies and other waste management issues are likely to be among issues that arise next week when MPs on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee hold a scrutiny evidence session with the senior management of the Environment Agency (EA).
Meeting details
The EA is an ‘arm’s length’ body which manages watercourses and flood defences, and regulates waste management, water quality and other environmental matters. It is funded by and reports to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
The session will be the last appearance before the Committee for the outgoing EA Chief Executive, Sir James Bevan, and comes just six months into the appointment of Alan Lovell as Chair of the Agency.
Sir James and Mr Lovell are also likely to be asked about how the Agency is tackling fly tipping and other waste crimes, the regulation of which was recently described by the Public Accounts Committee as tantamount to having decriminalised it.
Staff morale may be another area of questioning – some EA staff staged strike action this year over pay.