Publication date: 25.11.2025
Summary
The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) is investigating the Department for Infrastructure (DfI), the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and the Utility Regulator over the regulation of sewage discharges into Belfast Lough.
The investigation will determine whether these authorities have failed to comply with environmental law in their respective duties of regulating how untreated wastewater, that includes raw sewage, is discharged into Belfast Lough and its surrounding rivers.