STORY
Severn Trent Water has agreed payments totalling £2,277,424 to environmental charities following Environment Agency investigations into pollution incidents in the West Midlands. The money is being provided through two enforcement undertakings, which allow the regulator to accept restoration, prevention and financial commitments for certain environmental offences.
More than £1.8 million will go to Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, including £1.5 million relating to unauthorised sewage discharges from Blackminster Wastewater Treatment Works into Broadway Brook in June and August 2022. A further £327,424 relates to a breach of an ammonia permit condition at Cheltenham Hayden Wastewater Treatment Works in 2021.
Severn Rivers Trust will receive £450,000 for projects intended to improve river environments. Severn Trent must also meet the Environment Agency’s costs and carry out measures to prevent recurrence or repair harm. Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust plans to use part of its funding for work including the Severn Treescapes project, which supports tree planting and restoration at sites across the region.