Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee - Report on storm overflows in Wales

The Minister should report back to the Committee on progress towards delivery of the action plan accompanying the Roadmap for Storm Overflows within 12 months of their publication. [...] In November 2021, we wrote to the Minister for Climate Change to ask her to explain whether the effect of the provisions in the Environment Act 2021 would mean that rivers in England are better protected than those in Wales. [...] NRW told the Committee part of the reason for the categorisation of pollution incidents is to ensure it is “able to respond to the biggest, the worst pollution incidents, and that those come as a priority”. [...] Contributors referred to the on-going work of the Wales Better River Water Quality Taskforce (the Taskforce), which was established in June 2021 “to examine and evaluate the current approach to the management and regulation of storm overflows in Wales”. [...] We are pleased that the Welsh Government and its partners are responding to the huge public concern, most notably with the establishment of the Wales Better River Quality Taskforce, and the development of a Roadmap for Storm Overflows and accompanying action plan.