--- title: "Volunteer Under Investigation for Cleaning Polluted River Without a License, Faces Two Years in Prison" description: "Environmental attorney Paul Powlesland is under investigation by the UK's environmental regulator for cleaning a polluted river." date: "2026-06-21" modified: "2026-06-21" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/science-energy/volunteer-investigation-cleaning-polluted-river-prison" categories: - "Environment" - "Pollution" - "Science & Energy" --- # Volunteer Under Investigation for Cleaning Polluted River Without a License, Faces Two Years in Prison ![Photograph of garbage collecting on the bank of a river.]() *Shutterstock / Futurism* Sometimes it feels like no good deed goes unpunished. You can't [hand out food to the homeless]() without getting arrested, nor can you leave water for people in the desert without facing [decades in prison](). And don't even think about volunteering your time to pick trash out of the river — a lesson environmental lawyer Paul Powlesland is learning the hard way. According [to the *Guardian*](), Powlesland is now in deep water with the UK's Environmental Agency after organizing a group of volunteers called the River Roding Trust to dredge garbage out of a small tributary in the northeast exurbs of London. The outlet reports Powlesland and his team pulled 200 bags of garbage and organic debris out of a creek called Alders Brook over a ten-day period. For that transgression, the environmental regulator sent Powlesland a notice informing him that he's been placed under investigation for "permitting and waste offences." "We consider that unpermitted works have taken place... in contravention of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016," advised the letter, which was viewed by the *Guardian*. The EA's main complaint seems to be that the dredging was significant enough that it constitutes a flood risk. If authorities decide to prosecute Powlesland, he faces a maximum of [two years in prison](), an absurd penalty for a good samaritan. What's worse, Powlesland told the *Guardian* he's asked the agency numerous times to clean the river, but it's been ignoring him for years. "After decades of ignoring rampant environmental crime on the Roding, the Environment Agency has finally decided to act," he said. "But it's not action against Thames Water \[utility company\] for dumping billions of litres of sewage in the Roding, or the waste criminals who have dumped thousands of tonnes of rubbish on its banks, but against the River Roding Trust for... restoring a river without a permit." Still, Powlesland doesn't seem to regret the cleanup effort, telling the paper that the "section of the river which was cleared is really coming back beautifully, wildlife is returning, yet we are being threatened with prosecution." **More on pollution:** *[Just 11 AI Data Centers Could Belch More Fumes Than Entire Countries]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()