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The UK says water bosses could face prison under plans to clean up sewage-clogged rivers (apnews.com)

submitted 1 week ago by girlfreddy@lemmy.ca to c/world@lemmy.world

19 comments fedilink hide all child comments

The bosses of water companies that pollute waterways could go to prison under a new law the British government says will help clean up the country’s sewage-clogged rivers, lakes and beaches.

A bill introduced in Parliament on Thursday will give regulators the ability to ban bonuses for executives of polluting firms and bring criminal charges against lawbreakers, with the possibility of up to two years’ imprisonment for executives who obstruct investigations.

The state of Britain’s waterways made a stink during the campaign for a July 4 national election. For critics of the Conservative Party that had been in office since 2010, dirty water was a pungent symbol of Britain’s aging infrastructure and the effects of privatization of essential utilities.

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[-] NOT_RICK@lemmy.world 39 points 1 week ago

Labour literally cleaning up the tories’ mess.

[-] girlfreddy@lemmy.ca 11 points 1 week ago

I want every nation in the world to adopt laws like this.

[-] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world -2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

This is the Environment Act 2021, drawn up while the tories were still in power.

It is not a win.

Friends of the Earth said it represented a reduction in protections, rather than an increase; that the proposed environment watchdog will lack teeth and instead needs full independence and enforcement powers

[-] BrightCandle@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago

We don't actually need new laws. There are already existing mechanisms for holding the directors of companies criminally responsible for damage and death they cause. Its not new laws we need its the existing ones enforced and done so not just against the water companies but any company that is harming the environment and people or committing other criminal acts.

[-] Redruth@feddit.nl 4 points 1 week ago

Beware new laws! we already have industry and environmental regulation overlapping with general laws. Lack of enforcement is the problem

[-] girlfreddy@lemmy.ca 10 points 1 week ago

Do any of those laws already on the books threaten management with jail time?

[-] Redruth@feddit.nl -1 points 1 week ago

what do prisons achieve?

[-] girlfreddy@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 week ago

Big bosses will do anything to avoid prison ... even follow laws.

That's what prisons achieve in this context.

[-] Redruth@feddit.nl -4 points 1 week ago

Ah, i see. build empty prisons as a deterrent to the rich. brilliant! simply brilliant!

[-] girlfreddy@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Does the UK not have any prisons? Really??

I know they do, so why build any more?? The bosses can do their time in gen pop, just like anyone else.

[-] symthetics@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

Interestingly, it seems the last government were sitting on a massive prison overcrowding crisis, and there is now talk of sending prisoners to Estonian prisons to ease it.

To be honest, I'd imagine that'd be an even stronger deterrent for these pissbags. I can't imagine an Estonian prison being very accommodating!

[-] InvertedParallax@lemm.ee 1 points 1 week ago

Deterrence.

[-] Redruth@feddit.nl 3 points 1 week ago

BTW, are we allowed to talk about the national capacity for 60M poopies per day vs the actual load of 90M ?

our birthrate drops. young adults emigrate. some old people die while others retire abroad. And yet, we're 30M poopies/day overcapacity. why? nobody nose! it's a mysteron!

[-] Deceptichum@quokk.au 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

This sounds like dogwhistling?

What are you implying.

[-] Redruth@feddit.nl -1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Do i have to spell it out? it can only mean one thing. they aren't abroad and they aren't dead. Which means they must be underground, kept alive in a coma. their bodies used as orgone-energy batteries to power the quantum thingy. look, i don't have much time. you'll have to trust me... oh no, they can see us. run!

[-] sandbox@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

Problems like these are solved by expanding supply. It doesn’t really work to reduce demand.

[-] Redruth@feddit.nl 1 points 1 week ago

wait a minute. are we talking gross domestic poopie? or poopie per capita?

[-] egrets@lemmy.world 0 points 1 week ago

water bosses

Why is the AP writing as if their audience are children? I understand it from the Mirror.

this post was submitted on 05 Sep 2024

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