A UK lawyer who led volunteers to clean up a heavily polluted river in East London is now being probed and could face a prison sentence for doing the cleanup without official permission, The Guardian reported. Paul Powlesland, who is an environmental campaigner, spent 10 days in late February organising a community effort on Alders Brook, a tributary of the River Roding in Barking. Alongside the River Roding Trust, volunteers removed around 200 bags of litter, silt, weeds, and branches from a 250-metre stretch that had reportedly become choked and stagnant.
The media outlet suggested that the cleanup worked, as within days, locals reported fish, dragonflies, herons, and reed beds returning to the revived section.
The 40-year-old allegedly said he’d spent years asking the Environment Agency to act on pollution and fly-tipping in the Roding, but got no response. So his group stepped in.
Also read | “Struggling To Budget”: 26-Year-Old Earning Rs 82 Lakh A Year Says Luxuries Still Out Of Reach
That’s when the trouble started. Within a week of the cleanup, Environment Agency investigators visited the site and sent Powlesland a letter saying the group was under investigation for “unpermitted works” in breach of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.
“We consider that unpermitted works have taken place… in contravention of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016,” the letter, seen by The Guardian, read. “The site is currently under investigation for permitting and waste offences.”
The agency argues the dredging could pose a flood risk and alleges waste offences. The maximum penalty for the offence is up to two years in prison.
Also read | Man Lists 3 “Toxic Things” That Are Normalised In Indian Workplaces, Sparks Debate
In response, Powlesland told the media outlet that “after decades of overlooking serious environmental violations on the Roding, the Environment Agency finally decided to act”. He further mentioned that the enforcement targets volunteers rather than Thames Water’s sewage discharges or illegal dumping.
“But it’s not action against Thames Water for dumping billions of litres of sewage in the Roding, or the waste criminals who have dumped thousands of tonnes of rubbish on its banks, but against the River Roding Trust for… restoring a river without a permit,” he said.
He remains proud of the result, as he said. “The restored stretch of the river is thriving again, wildlife is returning, yet we’re being threatened with prosecution.”
“This seems to get to the nub of the problem with the EA. They do not prosecute things that they should prosecute, and all they are doing is going after easy targets,” he said.
The case has sparked backlash online, with many questioning why a volunteer cleanup is being pursued while larger polluters face less immediate action.
