Page 274 - Freshwater-Biology-and-Ecology-Handbook

CHAPTER 6 2 – 3 2

UK ENVIRONMENT PLAN – POST-BREXIT

ARRANGEMENTS – EXAMPLE

Post-Brexit, the Water Framework Directive remains in force
via the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. (129)
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2018/16/
contents/enacted

Until this is changed, the UK is committed to implementing
the WFD. It will continue with the River Basin Management
Plans, monitoring and reporting requirements, and the
Catchment Based Approach (CaBA) to water environment
management. A major difference is that, instead of reporting
to the EU, it will report to the newly created, independent
oversight body in the UK, the Office for Environmental
Protection (OEP).
The OEP was formally established in UK law by the
Environment Act in November 2021, following a short-lived
interim OEP that was set up in July 2021. (133)
https://www.theoep.org.uk

The OEP oversees the government’s environmental
activities, including progress with WFD. The Environment
Agency in England and its devolved counterparts remain as
competent authorities to implement the WFD. This includes
monitoring and reporting to the OEP. In Scotland, many of
the functions of the OEP are undertaken by Environmental
Standards Scotland (ESS), which reports to the Scottish
Parliament. https://environmentalstandards.scot/

In principle, it would be possible for the UK to make the
monitoring and reporting information available to the EU.
Comparative assessments of the EU and UK could be made
on an informal basis, if agreed.

The best current indictor of the future of water management
and the role of the WFD is set out in the UK 25-Year
Environment Plan. Incidentally, the European (Withdrawal)
Act also made the 25-Year Environment Plan statutory, so
this has legal force.

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