The OEP has ruled that it allowed excessive sewage into England's rivers and seas.
The government and regulators have broken the law by being too lenient on water companies that spill sewage, the UK's environment watchdog has found.
"The OEP's findings offer yet another devastating verdict of the total failure of environmental regulation in our country," said chair and founder of River Action Charles Watson. "It is nothing short of scandalous." Untreated sewage contains chemicals which can be harmful to aquatic life and can lead to a build-up of algae which starves local wildlife of oxygen and produces toxins that are potentially fatal to pets and dangerous to people.Nick Measham, CEO at WildFish, told the BBC following the announcement: "We are absolutely delighted and relieved. It actually means we can end this problem of sewage going into rivers.
But the government's environment department, Defra, and the Environment Agency are currently consulting on any changes, and have said they would "carefully consider" the OEP's allegations. There would also be a question as to whether water companies' new five-year investment plans - which are due to be announced on Thursday - would be sufficient to upgrade infrastructure to meet these requirements.
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