Watchdog investigating whether Defra breaking laws on cleaning up English rivers

Office for Environmental Protection says targets for water quality likely to be missed, and clarifying rules may help
The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) watchdog has launched an investigation into the UK government over potential failures to clean up England’s rivers under EU-derived laws.
The OEP published a report last year saying that plans to clean up waterways were too generic and did not address specific issues at individual sites. It said plans were being put in place despite low government confidence that their objectives could be achieved.
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