Added 28/7/2009
Concerns over draft flood Bill
28 July 2009
The government's draft Flood and Water Management Bill must ensure there is action rather than endless consultation regarding the provision of adequate flood and coastal defences and increased river maintenance, the NFU said today.
In its response to the Bill, the NFU has raised concerns about the new roles and responsibilities for flood risk management, in particular the strategic overview role given to the Environment Agency and the local flood leadership responsibilities assigned to county and unitary authorities.
NFU
Deputy President Meurig Raymond said: "The
provisions are power-heavy and duty light when it comes to
the Environment Agency. We're asking for the Bill to place
an express duty on the agency to provide adequate flood and
coastal defences. We've got to have concrete action rather
than endless consultation. That includes a reversal of the
reduction in river maintenance we've seen since the
Environment Agency took over responsibility for main
rivers."
The draft Bill also introduces significant changes to the reservoir safety regime, with a proposal that all reservoirs of 10,000 cubic metres or over should be brought into a new risk-based regime regulated by the Environment Agency. There are concerns about the potential impact on small on-farm irrigation reservoirs.
Mr
Raymond added: "If the risk of flooding from these
reservoirs is negligible and the impact of any release would
be negligible, then the level of regulation should reflect
that. That is surely what a genuine risk-based approach is
about. There is a real risk here that what the government is
encouraging with its water resources arm, it will make
considerably less attractive through its flood management
policies. Our aim is to ensure that doesn't happen."
A further major concern relates to the reform of Internal Drainage Boards mooted in Defra's consultation. If taken up in their entirety, the proposals could severely curtail the ability of IDBs to carry out their local drainage and water level management functions, a crucial element in the wider flood and coastal erosion risk management toolkit.
"The Pitt Review was one of the widest ranging policy reviews ever carried out - if Pitt saw no grounds for recommending the type of reforms now being proposed, we believe we are on safe ground in questioning them," Mr Raymond said.