“(4A)

In exercising or performing any such power or duty in accordance with those provisions, the Authority must also have regard to the need to contribute towards achieving compliance by the Secretary of State with the relevant environmental target duties, where the Authority considers that exercise or performance to be relevant to the making of such a contribution.

(4B)

The “relevant environmental target duties” means—

(a)

the duty in section 1 of the Climate Change Act 2008 (UK net zero emissions target), and

(b)

so far as the exercise or performance concerned relates to appointment areas wholly or mainly in England, the duty in section 5 of the Environment Act 2021 (other environmental targets);

and for that purpose an “appointment area” is an area for which an appointment is held under Chapter 1 of Part 2.”;

“(t)

as a means of recovering costs incurred by it in performing water industry enforcement functions, the Agency or the Natural Resources Body for Wales may require the payment to it by water companies of such charges as may from time to time be prescribed;”;

“(1B)

In paragraph (t) of subsection (1)—

“water companies” means—

(a)

water undertakers and sewerage undertakers, and

(b)

water supply licensees and sewerage licensees within the meaning of the Water Industry Act 1991;

“water industry enforcement functions” means functions performed for the purpose of assessing or securing compliance by water companies (within the above meaning), or responding to failures on their part to comply, with any provision made by—

(a)

sections 205A and 205B of the Water Industry Act 1991 (pollution incident reduction plans and implementation reports),

(b)

Chapter 2 of Part 2 of the Water Resources Act 1991 (water abstraction and impounding),

(c)

Chapter 3 of that Part (drought orders and drought permits), or

(d)

the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 (regulation of certain facilities and activities),

but, in relation to water supply licensees and sewerage licensees, includes those functions only so far as performed in respect of the activities to which their licences relate.”