Campaign group lose High Court challenge over River Wye pollution

An environmental group has lost it's High Court challenge over pollution in the River Wye.

The campaign group - River Action - argued that the Environment Agency isn't doing enough to stop farmers spreading too much chicken manure on their fields.

However, a High Court Judge ruled that EA and the Government are applying the laws and that it would be wrong to impose further sanctions on farmers.

River Action claims that its legal bid still served a purpose, by obliging the EA to improve its approach to enforcement in order to convince the court that it was indeed meeting its responsibility.

The judge said in his judgment handed down today that there had been “a conflict in the interpretation” of the farming rules between the EA and Defra, its parent body in government.

Thanks to the case, this “has been bought into the public domain for determination”, while the EA has now “revised and refined” its processes.

River Action’s chairman and founder Charles Watson said: “Thanks to our claim, the EA has changed its approach to enforcing the farming rules for water.

The EA and NFU were approached for comment.

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