Success for Thames petition in sight!

5.32.10pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 26th Jul 2006

London's Liberal Democrat Euro-MP Baroness Sarah Ludford is demanding an end to the secrecy surrounding EU action on UK breach of European clean water laws as regards the River Thames and sewage.

Sarah Ludford took a petition to the European Parliament last year calling for the massive raw sewage discharges polluting the River Thames to be ended through the building of a long interceptor tunnel, as called for by the Thames Tideway Strategic Study.

This petition and a complaint by the Royal Thames Society stimulated enforcement action by the European Commission. The Commission issued a warning to the UK government in April that it would face court action and fines if it failed to show a plan for adequate measures to comply with the relevant EU directive. The UK is known to have responded in June and an announcement is anticipated in the next few weeks.

Sarah commented:

"It is a sad comment on this government's attitude to Londoners that only the threat of European court action forces them to act. But the continuing secrecy is robbing Londoners of their right to know when the Thames will actually be cleaned up as European law demands."

"If discharges to the Thames and the River Lee are not stopped before the Olympics, athletes will get a nasty surprise. But a specific Olympic effort must not divert from the task of giving all Londoners the clean river they deserve."

"I am hopeful of a positive outcome but a proper announcement is due so Londoners can finally know when the 19th century conditions they endure will be ended."

Notes:

The Thames Tideway Strategic Study called for the construction of a combined storage and transfer tunnel running from west to east London under the Thames to stop discharges of untreated sewage into the river by intercepting overflows from the sewers (which happen in even moderate rainfall when rain and sewage combine in the pipes). The tunnel would then transport sewage to Crossness Sewage Treatment Works at the mouth of the estuary for treatment.

The European Commission gave the government two warnings about the non-implementation of Directive 91/271/EEC on urban waste water treatment in relation to these discharges. It is now evaluating whether DEFRA's submission on its plans is enough to head off infringement proceedings in the European Court.