Ofwat and Defra face legal action for sewage spills dating back to the 1990s

Pre-action protocol letters relating to sewage spills at Whitburn, near Sunderland, have been sent by the Environmental Law Foundation and Landmark Chambers to OFWAT and Defra on behalf of local campaigner Robert Latimer, Utility Week magazine has reported.

Mr Latimer claims Ofwat and Defra failed to comply with its duties under regulation 4(4) of the Urban Waste Water Treatment (England and Wales) Regulations 1994 and in particular that interventions to mitigate sewage discharges were insufficient.

The pipe was upgraded in 2017 following an order from the European Court of Justice (ECJ), but Mr Latimer’s letter said that in 2021 alone there were 122 discharges amounting to 821,088 tonnes of sewage released from the outfall.

It was mistaken of Ofwat and Defra to consider the Whitburn Interceptor Tunnel compliant with the judgement of the ECJ, it said.

Defra declined to comment and an Ofwat spokesperson said: “We will provide a full response to a letter received from The Environmental Law Foundation on behalf of Mr Latimer in due course. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”