NRW publishes Annual Regulation Report
Regulation must keep pace with current and emerging industries and be agile to the challenges driven by the climate, nature and pollution emergencies, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said today (02 December 2024) as it published its annual regulation report.
NRW oversees the regulation of businesses and industries across a wide range of sectors in Wales, from water companies to waste management sites. We are also at the forefront of responding to the growing number of incidents driven by climate change, nature’s decline and pollution.
Published annually, the Regulation Report provides a comprehensive review of our regulatory and enforcement activities across this remit for the 2023 calendar year, covering incident response, permitting and licensing, compliance, crime and our enforcement and sanctioning actions.
The main findings of the report covering the 2023 calendar year are:
- We were notified of 8,505 incidents - up 17% from 2022.
- 1,290 incidents were ‘high level’ requiring an immediate response
- We attended 29% of all incidents in 2023 – comparable to previous years, despite dealing with over 1,000 more incidents.
- 39% of all reported incidents (3,318) were water-related (pollution, reservoirs, abstraction, blockage or alteration to a watercourse) – up 8% from 2022.
- Water discharge compliance checks increased to 649 – up 37% from 2022
- There was a 48% increase in the number of intensive farming compliance checks in 2023
- There were 831 new enforcement cases in 2023, comprising 799 offenders, with 1,267 separate enforcement charges
- The number of waste and installations compliance visits has fallen in 2023, by 10% and 5% respectively, compared to 2022.
Figures included in the report demonstrate that tackling those who pollute our natural environment, and organisations and individuals who seek to profit from illegal activity continues to be a priority for NRW.
Some 46% of the 831 enforcement cases opened in 2023 were generated from our incident response activity, with 45% generated from our compliance efforts. The remaining 9% were generated from fisheries incidents.
During 2023 we concluded 442 enforcement cases, with a further 389 still ongoing. Our enforcement work also resulted in 85 successful prosecutions, comprising 126 charges, and resulting in fines totalling £648,320.
Water-related incidents topped the table of reported incidents over this reporting period (3,318), followed by 3,051 reports of waste-related incidents – an increase from the 2,454 reported in 2022.
We are constantly striving to improve how we work with businesses and sectors to control and minimise pollution and waste using our statutory powers and duties.
Last year, we published our corporate plan to 2030 which sets out how we will prioritise action so that nature and people will be protected from the impacts of pollution.
Nadia De Longhi, Head of Regulation and Permitting at NRW said:
From the significant increase in the number of water and agricultural compliance inspections, to dealing with an increasing number of reported incidents, this report shows not only where our regulatory efforts are making a difference, but where the challenges facing regulators like NRW are accelerating.
Public expectation to protect our environment has never been higher, but we are also committed to regulating to high standards. This is why we have put minimising pollution at the heart of our corporate plan, highlighting what we can do ourselves, but also where we will need to work with others to ensure nature and people are protected from the risks and impacts of pollution and environmental incidents now, and in the future.”
The regulation report highlights how, in a rapidly changing world, we will need to rise to the challenge of regulating both existing and emerging industries driven by the march towards net zero. A growing population, the climate and nature emergencies are also presenting their own challenges, highlighting the need for more flexible regulatory approaches to accommodate this rapid environmental change.
Nadia De Longhi added:
Effective regulation is not about eradicating all risks; it’s about managing and reducing them to minimise harm to both people and the environment.
Our dedicated colleagues, whose regulatory efforts are detailed in this report, play a pivotal role in achieving this. But we also need to ensure the legislative tools at our disposal are fit for the future.
As regulators we will continue to drive the improvements we can make with the resources we have. But, like many public bodies, we will also need to be innovative in how and where we focus our resources and our efforts. It also means ensuring we prioritise the actions we do take so that they have the best outcomes for people and for nature, and that they deliver the improvements to our environment that we all want to see.
You can review our Annual Regulatory Report for 2023 here :