Environment Secretary Therese Coffey in April announced plans to allow unlimited fines for polluting water companies but the policy has since been expanded to include other parties such as energy and waste operators.
The current maximum fine stands at 250,000 pounds ($325,000), while the change allows environmental regulators to avoid lengthy criminal prosecutions.
"Polluters must always pay," Conservative party MP Coffey said in a statement.
"It builds on action being taken right across government to stand up for our environment -- tackling pollution, protecting delicate ecosystems and enhancing nature," she added.
The move comes amid a long-running scandal over privatised water firms pumping raw sewage into waterways.
A UK court last week fined Thames Water, the nation's biggest supplier of the commodity, 3.3 million pounds for polluting rivers.
The fine came shortly after the UK's privatised water companies pledged to make massive investments to avoid repeats of the contamination.
Thames Water must do this while trying to stay afloat. The company on Monday secured a significant financial injection from shareholders that staved off temporary renationalisation, according to reports.
In light of its current struggles, Thames Water chairman Adrian Montague told lawmakers Wednesday that he understood "frustration" felt by customers.
"We want to see improvements. We would love to be able to deliver all those improvements overnight, but it will take time," he told the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, a cross-party panel of MPs.
Toxic foam blights river crucial to Brazil's biggest city
Salto, Brazil (AFP) July 12, 2023 -
Not far from Latin America's biggest city, Sao Paulo, a river is covered in a white layer that resembles fresh snow but is in fact a smelly, toxic foam.
The Tiete river, some 1,100 kilometers long, is crucial for potable water, irrigation and energy production in southeast Brazil, the country's most populated area.
But parts of the waterway, including one area just 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the metropolis, have been befouled by phosphate and phosphorus residues from household detergents used by Sao Paulo's 22 million inhabitants and washed down the sewers.
A tributary of the Parana river, the waterway has been covered in a visible foam layer since last week, at one point spread over more than 10 kilometers and also spotted blighting several waterfalls.
"When these residues enter the fast-running waters of the Tiete, it is as if a washing machine has been turned on," said Malu Ribeiro of the NGO SOS Mata Atlantica, describing the foamy mess.
The NGO warns that fumes from the foam can cause sore throats and breathing problems, and contact could irritate the skin.
The impact on animal and plant life was likely similar to that caused by "acid rain," said Ribeiro.
The phenomenon is not a new one: The foam is a frequent feature of the river in the dry winter months when there is less water to dissolve the chemicals.
In the 1990s, the situation was sometimes so bad that the foam ran down the streets of some cities near the river's shore.
Improvements to water treatment have alleviated the problem, but some years are still worse than others.
Ribeiro said the foam is worse in periods with big temperature fluctuations. In winter the contrast can be quite extreme, with very cold mornings and very hot afternoons.
"Cold water is heavier, and it carries polluting residues to the bottom... But when it is heated by the sun, these residues rise to the surface and form a thicker foam," he explained.
SOS Mata Atlantica is advocating for a ban on phosphate and phosphorus in domestic cleaning products.
Water treatment must be improved too: In the Alto Tiete basin that serves Sao Paolo, just over half of wastewater is treated, according to official data from 2021.
Sao Paulo's environment secretariat has promised to invest 5.6 billion reais (about $1.1 billion) in the water treatment network by 2026.
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