(Bloomberg) -- Water companies that dump sewage in UK rivers and seas will face fines of as much as £250 million ($282 million) under new plans set out by Environment Secretary Ranil Jayawardena.
If companies don’t tackle effluent flowing into open water he will institute an up to 1,000-fold increase in civil fines, Jayawardena told the ruling Conservative Party annual conference in Birmingham on Monday.
“Privatization has put in £170 billion of investment into our water infrastructure already, and the private sector will now put in another £56 billion more,” the minister said.
At Labour’s conference last week, the opposition party’s environment spokesman Jim McMahon said water companies would face jail sentences for the worst pollution incidents if Labour wins power. He also said his party would introduce a legally binding target to end 90% of sewage discharges by 2030 and stronger sanctions and fines for bosses and companies that fail.
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