From 2 April 2018 new rules for all farmers in England will be introduced to help protect water quality, by standardising good farm practices that many are already performing and offering a new approach to regulation.

In essence the rules require farmers to:

• keep soil on the land;
• match nutrients to crop, and soil needs, and
• keep livestock fertilisers and manures out of the water.

The Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey said:

These new rules are a win-win for farmers and the environment. They will help improve water quality, set a level playing field for all farmers, help businesses save money from better resource efficiency and improve their resilience.

Our ambition is to be the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than we found it and these new rules will help us deliver our plans for a Green Brexit along with a better future for farming business.

Farmers and land managers will be able to determine what approach is best for their land, through methods such as deciding when it is safe to spread fertilisers.

The farming rules for water were drawn up with farming and environment stakeholders to recognise and build on the good progress that a great many farmers have made in trying to tackle pollution.

There are eight rules, five about managing fertilisers and manures and three on managing soils.

The fertiliser rules require farmers to test their soils, then plan and apply their fertiliser or manure to improve soil nutrient levels and meet crop needs. They include minimum storage and spreading distances from water bodies.
They also require the farmer to assess weather and soil conditions to reduce the risk of runoff and soil erosion.

The remaining rules require farmers to manage livestock by protecting land within five metres of water and reducing livestock poaching.

In addition to these rules, farmers are encouraged to incorporate organic fertilisers into the soil within 12 hours of spreading to significantly reduce ammonia pollution.

Farming rules for water are part of a whole package of measures to help farmers and land managers look after the environment. The government is also investing £400 million through Countryside Stewardship which supports farmers in creating or restoring precious habitats and a £12 million farm ammonia reduction grant has incentivised farmers to tackle agricultural emissions.

The new rules will not only benefit farming businesses: clean water helps tourism, fishing and shellfish businesses to thrive, reduces the cost of treatment and protects biodiversity.

The Environment Agency will roll out the rules through an advice led approach, working with farmers to meet the requirements before enforcement action is taken.

The Environment Agency are calling upon all migratory salmon and sea trout rod licence holders to submit their catch return records by 1 January 2018.

The submission of angler’s reports plays a vital role in the assessment and management of salmon and sea trout stocks in England. The information submitted forms part of the wider Environment Agency’s Salmon 5 Point Approach, which aims to conserve and enhance England’s salmon populations.

The submission is a legal requirement for all salmon and sea trout anglers, and each submission will go towards securing the future of the sport.

Lawrence Talks, National Senior Advisor for Salmonid Management, said:

Salmon are a highly valued fish in the world of angling and we ask all migratory salmon and sea trout rod licence holders to complete a ‘catch return’ in order to help us secure the future of this sport.

The Environment Agency, Government and partners are committed to taking action to conserve and enhance England’s salmon populations. We use the catch return data to assess and manage salmon and sea trout stocks in a sustainable way.

Catch returns can be completed online at GOV.UK/catch-return and need to be submitted by 1st January 2018.

Anglers can fill in their catch returns online: www.gov.uk/catch-return

The Environment Agency has removed a large amount of debris from a County Durham dam following rain and high river flows.

Prolonged heavy rain saw river levels rise across the north east leading to Environment Agency field teams working through the night to keep the region’s rivers flowing.

Spring Gardens dam – which reduces the risk of flooding to West Auckland from the River Gaunless – prevented large amounts of debris from causing blockages further downstream.

This week the field team has been back out clearing up after the heavy rain resulted in 12 Flood Alerts being issued across the region.

Alex Murray, Field Team Leader, said:

The dam is designed to hold back flood water during high flows, and then slowly release it once the threat has passed.

While it wasn’t necessary for it to operate during the heavy rain last week, it prevented debris from reaching downstream and creating blockages, which is equally important and helps reduce the risk of flooding to the town.

It resulted in a large build-up of debris so this week we’ve been clearing it up, along with our other flood defence assets, to ensure they are clear and in working order ready to do their job again.

Our Field Teams regularly carry out work to check and maintain our rivers right across the north east to make sure anything which is deemed a potential flood risk is removed.

Spring Gardens dam was built after West Auckland and South Church were badly affected by floods in 2000.

People living in Mytholmroyd are being urged to vote on which wall finish they would prefer as part of the new £30m flood alleviation scheme in their village.

Information leaflets about the consultation on the section of wall between Caldene Avenue Bridge and Whitehouses are being delivered to around 2,000 households along with a token they can use to choose which of 2 design options they prefer.

Sample panels of the 2 stone wall finishes have been built by stone masons for residents to view in the carpark outside Mytholmroyd community centre.

Boxes will be placed at the local post office and community centre in the village for people to post their token to indicate their choice.

The 2 alternative finishes were put together following discussions with a landscape group, made up of local residents and interested parties, helping to shape the scheme.

Helen Batt explains why residents are being consulted

Helen Batt, Environment Agency director for the flood schemes in the Calderdale area, said:

Our project team has worked closely with the landscape stakeholder group and architects to come up with these two designs following feedback that residents would prefer us to use natural, traditional materials which are in keeping with the local environment. We thought it would be good to let the whole village choose between the two options and have a say on the final design.

The consultation will run from Monday 4 December to Sunday 10 December. Three drop-in sessions are being held at Mytholmroyd community centre during the consultation for residents to talk to the project team. The sessions are planned for Monday 4, Wednesday 6 and Thursday 7 December, between 3pm and 8pm.

The final decision will be submitted as part of the planning application for area F of the scheme which stretches from Caldene Bridge to Hawksclough Bridge.

The Environment Agency provides free warning of the risk of flooding from rivers. Sign up for this service, find out if your home is at risk and keep up to date with the latest situation by visiting www.gov.uk/flood or call Floodline on 0345 9881188.

The Bennions of Rosehill Farm, Dymock, were each fined £5,500 and each ordered to pay £25,798 in costs along with a victim surcharge of £170.

More than 15,200 fish were killed as a result of the incident in which hundreds of tonnes of digestate were discharged into the river. Fish killed including brown trout, chub, eel, dace, roach, lamprey, and bream. The Bennions are the sole partners of the partnership that own and run Rose Hill Farm.

The incident, on the 22 July 2016, occurred when an employee was instructed by Mark Bennion to fertilise one of the orchards. The employee turned on the irrigation system designed to take the digestate fertiliser from a lagoon to the orchard.

However, he had not physically checked and therefore did not know that the valve linked to the standpipe in another field was partly open. As a result, when the fertiliser entered the irrigation system, it discharged out of the standpipe, across the field and into the Preston Brook.

The discharge pump operates at 100 tonnes an hour, therefore a very large amount of polluting digestate entered the watercourse. The discharge was the worst in 10 years in the area.

Mark Bennion liaised with Environment Agency officers and submitted a proposal for dredging the brook in order to remove all contaminates. This was completed on 12 August 2016.

Surveys conducted after the incident show the fish population within the watercourse have been significantly adversely impacted. The Leadon is an important habitat for eels and a significant number of adults were lost as a result of the pollution.

In passing sentence, the Magistrates sought to achieve a balance between the major adverse impact on the watercourse and the powerful mitigation put forward on the defendants’ behalf. The Bennions were both previously of good character, with no previous convictions, and co-operated with the Environment Agency immediately after the incident. Their remorse was evident throughout the investigation and court hearing.
Since the incident the Environment Agency have restocked the river with more than 15,000 fish. The restocking process will continue over the next 4 years.

Speaking after the case an Environment Agency spokesperson said:

Agriculture uses 70% of the land in England and farmers have a major impact on the environment. Most farmers act responsibly and we work with the industry to respond to incidents, tackle the root causes of pollution and promote good practice.

But where farmers are responsible for serious pollution incidents, we will not hesitate to take enforcement action, including prosecution. Agriculture is the single biggest source of serious pollution incidents and all farmers have a duty to prevent it.

This was one of the worst pollution incidents on a watercourse in the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire area in the last 10 years. It significantly affected a stretch of the River Leadon catchment.

We are pleased that the court has accepted the seriousness of the case and imposed appropriate penalties.

We appreciate reports from the public to the Environment Agency’s Incident Hotline on 0800 80 70 60 which allows our staff to respond swiftly to protect people, wildlife and the environment – and also to investigate environmental offences which may have occurred.