IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF OUR WATER: THE ROLE OF REGULATION BY THE NATIONAL RIVERS AUTHORITY
| Author | JOHN C. BOW |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.1992.tb00956.x |
| Published date | 01 December 1992 |
| Date | 01 December 1992 |
IMPROVING THE QUALITY
OF
OUR
WATER: THE
ROLE
OF
REGULATION
BY
THE NATIONAL RIVERS
AUTHORITY
JOHN
C.
BOW"
INTRODUCTION
The National Rivers Authority
(NR
)
was formed
as
a result
of
the W: er Act
(1989);
responsibility for the control of pollution in controlled waters of England
and Wales under the Act was vested in the authority as from
1
September
1989.
The
NRA
was created from what were, briefly, the ten 'Rivers'
units
of the former
Regional Water Authorities of England and Wales.
It
therefore inherited the
staff
and resources of those units, but has quite new statutory powers under the Water
Act.
These
include responsibilities for a range of matters concerning the water
environment, only one of which includes that of water quality. The others relate
to water resources, flood defence, salmon and freshwater fisheries, as well
as
some
navigation, conservancy and harbour authority functions. The Water Act also
places general duties on the
NU
to promote conservation and enhancement of
the natural beauty and amenity of inland and coastal waters, of the land associated
with them, and to promote their use for recreational purposes. Furthermore it places
a duty on the
NRA
to make arrangements for the carrying out of research activities
in support of all its functions,
In
1991
five new Acts, which consolidated existing water legislation, were passed
and came into force on
1
December
1991.
They were the Water Industry Act
(1991),
the Water Resources Act
(1991),
the Statutory Water Companies Act
(1991),
the
Land Drainage Act
(1991)
and the Water Consolidation (Consequential Provisions)
Act
(1991).
Until
this
consolidation legislation was passed, water law was spread
over
20
main Acts and a large number of other statutes dating back to the
1930s.
Consolidation has not lead to any substantial amendments to the earlier legislation.
The legislation pertaining to the
NU
and relating to water quality and quantity
is now to be found in the Water Resources Act. These new Acts did not lead to
any changes in the responsibilities and duties of the
NU.
John
C.
Bowman is Managing Director
of
Halliburton
NUS
Environmental Limited.
Public Administration
Vol.
70
Winter
1992
(565-575)
0
1992
Piihlir
Adminidratinn
ISSN
M1L770R
P?
M
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