S (2008) Abandoned mines and the Water Framework Directive in the United Kingdom. This Volume

The Water Framework Directive is the overarching driver for water quality in Europe and its implementation in the UK is critical to how we view minewater pollution. Its basic tenet is that we achieve good chemical or ecological status in all of our water bodies. The Environment Agency, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, and the Coal Authority work together to deal with the problem of minewater pollution and we have reviewed our work programmes to match the objectives of the directive. The Coal Authority’s environment programme has been aligned with the first three river basin planning cycles and we are starting to address the problem of non-coal mines with an identification and prioritisation project that will affect river basin plans