Contaminated Land

The Contaminated Land (England) Regulations 2006 impose liabilities not only on polluters but also on owners and occupiers of contaminated land. Not only does this significantly affect development costs and hence property value, but you could also find yourself liable for mandatory clean up if your site represents a risk of causing “significant harm”.

The assessment of risk is the task for an appropriately qualified specialist who can interpret a variety of variables and provide clear definitive advice.

During property acquisition, or development, it is now usual practice to commission a Phase 1 (Desk top) Assessment, which may then lead on to the requirement for a Phase 2 (Intrusive) Assessment in order to further quantify the risk.

When assessing the risk one must determine whether:

 

 

Once established, professional judgement on whether “significant harm” or the “potential of significant harm” being caused is required. In addition, it is important to establish who may be liable for any remediation costs.

There are many biological, physiological, geological, hydrological and human inter-relationships that effect whether a pathway is present. The task of assessing the risk is often complex, requiring professional judgement across a number of disciplines. It is further complicated by the ‘fit for use’ concept whereby contamination levels in an area of industrial use may be acceptable, but in a residential area they may not.

The aim of any investigation into contamination of land should seek to optimise beneficial use of the site by carefully balancing the risks with the costs of the investigation and the remediation strategy. The more that is known about a site, the more quantifiable and manageable are these risks.

Environet can help with:

 

 

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