Anglian Water ordered to pay £50k for failing to provide records in landmark ruling

A landmark court ruling has seen Anglian Water become the first to pay more than £50,000 for not complying with an environmental permit condition.

Anglian Water was taken to court by the Environment Agency for failing to provide records and was given a £25,000 fine during a sentencing hearing in Peterborough Magistrates Court on Friday (July 5) - which is the first conviction of its kind and sets a precedent.

The Environment Agency says this court case arose out of a wider criminal investigation involving all ten English water companies looking into potential non-compliance with environmental permit conditions at over 2,000 wastewater treatment works.

However the water company says that it was found not guilty of two more charges of failing to provide records.

An EA statement said: “This is the first conviction of its kind by the Environment Agency against a water company and it sets a precedent for the regulation of non-compliant companies.

“The Environment Agency hopes that the sentence will help it in its role as a regulator to bring all water companies into compliance and reduce environmental pollution.”

The company had been convicted at an earlier hearing on May 24 of failing, without reasonable excuse, to comply with a requirement to provide records between dates in January 2022 and January 2023. The EA had served several statutory notices on the company.

A press release from the EA states: “Anglian Water Services Ltd had entered a not guilty plea to the charge, claiming that they had a reasonable excuse for non-compliance. Having heard the evidence in the case, District Judge Kenneth Sheraton rejected the water company’s claim.”

A statement from the company says: “Anglian Water has always maintained, and the judge concurred, that our course of action and time taken to respond with data to the Environment Agency was reasonable. This was reflected in the fact that we were found not guilty of the two main charges.

“While we are disappointed with the finding in relation to the first charge, the low level of sentence reflects our view that this was not a significant failure on our part.”

Along with the £25,000 fine, Anglian Water was also ordered to pay £190 victim surcharge and £25,000 in costs.

Do you welcome this court case? Post a comment below…