Court action pending over Farming Rules for Water

Environmental group River Action has been given permission to pursue legal action against the Environment Agency (EA) over its enforcement of the so-called Farming Rule for Water.

River Action first issued a legal claim in the High Court last March, arguing that inadequate enforcement is contributing to pollution in the River Wye, with excessive phosphorus leading to algal blooms.

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It suggests that, even though the rules are supposed to prevent applications of manure to farmland in a way that would raise nutrient levels above what is needed by the crop, Defra’s guidance provides sufficient leeway for excessive spreading to continue anyway.

For example, the guidance says farmers can still spread manure in the autumn beyond the crop’s immediate need, so long as it does not exceed the total requirement for the whole crop cycle.

River Action maintains that this guidance is at odds with the actual 2018 pollution regulations.

The application for a judicial review was considered in the High Court in Cardiff on Thursday 19 October, with Mr Justice Lane deciding there is a case to be considered.

According to a BBC report, the judge agreed that the Defra guidance on Farming Rules for Water could be at odds with the exact wording of the relevant pollution regulations.

Vigorous case

Commenting on the decision to allow a court hearing, River Action chairman Charles Watson said the group would “vigorously make the case that a prime cause for the recent ecological collapse of the River Wye is the EA’s decision to slavishly follow Defra’s guidance”.

“These critically important regulations state that fertilisers and manures must not be spread on soils already over-saturated with excess nutrients,” he said.

According to the BBC report, the EA’s barrister Charles Streeten explained to the High Court that the agency has directed extra resources to the Wye area to help prevent pollution.

It has also been proactive in issuing enforcement actions in relation to the Farming Rules for Water, with 6,000 informal notices given since 2021, and 141 cases of formal enforcement action.

But, he explained, the EA had to take full account of the official guidance, or risk being accused of an “abuse of process”.

A date for any further court hearing has yet to be set.