North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has questioned the Minister for Environment this week over concern regarding the procedure now used for inspecting rivers for pollution.

Speaking in the Assembly Chamber yesterday during Questions to Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs, Mr Isherwood also raised concern over the related issue of fisheries protection.

He said:

“In October, we corresponded about a pollution incident in the Afon Clywedog Dee tributary near Wrexham. Of course, specific pollution incidents are a matter for Natural Resources Wales. How do you respond to concern that the self-reporting procedure with water companies, now applied by Natural Resources Wales, takes away the proactive inspections that used to be in place and carried out by Environment Agency Wales staff, and to concern that the current redeployment of skilled fisheries enforcement officers will reduce the effectiveness of fisheries protection across the three regions of South-East, South-West and Northern areas, including the upper Severn, and, particularly, of the cross-border working on both sides of the river Severn, and with the Wye and its tributaries, crossing again the England-Wales border? 

Responding, Minister for Environment, Hannah Blythyn, said:  

“In terms of tackling this, and making sure we reduce and prevent the impact of any pollution of any kind or any instance within our river basins across Wales, wherever that may be, it's important that we work in partnership with stakeholders, with Welsh Water and Hafren Dyfrdwy and with Natural Resources Wales. And this, of course, is something that I'm happy to monitor very closely, going forward, to ensure that we get the outcomes that we need.”