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ARTICLE · 05 OCTOBER 2026

Environment Agency Consults On Updates To Its Enforcement And Sanctions Policy

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The Environment Agency has launched a consultation on significant reforms to its Enforcement and Sanctions Policy, introducing new civil penalty frameworks and automatic financial penalties for water companies under the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025. The proposed changes expand enforcement mechanisms across multiple sectors including waste management, packaging regimes, and mercury controls, while establishing a fundamentally different regulatory approach for water sector operators that allows penalties

United KingdomEnvironment
Philippa Shepherd
Philippa Shepherd
Alex Bones
Alex Bones

On 10 August 2026, the Environment Agency (“EA”) launched a consultation on proposed changes to its Enforcement and Sanctions Policy (“ESP”) and its proposed approach to exercising new and existing enforcement powers under certain new legislation, namely: 

  • the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 (“WSMA”);
  • the Digital Waste Tracking (England) Regulations 2026;
  • the Deposit Scheme for Drinks Containers (England and NI) Regulations 2025; and 
  • the Control of Mercury (Enforcement) Regulations 2017.

The consultation, which is open until 4 October 2026, describes changes to the general policy principles, including how the EA assesses enforcement undertakings, a proposed additional penalty principle to better protect victims and simplified public interest factors to be taken into account when making enforcement decisions.

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