The New UK Contaminated Land Regime

This chapter is intended to provide an introduction to the Part IIA system and an analytical view of its key dimensions, placing it in the context of wider policy on land contamination issues. (It does not provide a detailed, narrative description of the provisions of the Part IIA system—the system is described in detail in the circular published at the time the system came into force by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR).2) 

Any country s contaminated land policy framework will have developed to reflect 

1 Separate arrangements are in place for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. For simplicity, the references throughout this paper are specific to England. 

2 DETR Circular 2/2000 Environmental Protection Act 1990 Part IIA—Contaminated Land, March 2000. 

Issues in Environmental Science and Technology No. 16 Assessment and Reclamation of Contaminated Land The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2001 

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Estimates of the extent of contaminated land in the United Kingdom are often based on different definitions and therefore need to be viewed cautiously. They are often based on available but incomplete sources and they may mix between definitions. Further, some industry sectors have better information on the impact of their activities than others, and this might be misconstrued to imply that these sectors have caused more contamination. It is hoped that the provisions of the new contaminated land regime in the UK will refine and improve our estimates. 

After many years of R D, the UK government has begun to launch details of the approach it requires for the assessment of land under the new contaminated land regime. This regime went live in April 2000, and it requires local authorities, in conjunction with the Environment Agency, to initiate the inspection and, if necessary, remediation of potentially polluted land. 

We have finally got the new liability regime (Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act—inserted into that Act by Section 57 of the Environment Act 1995) for contaminated land throughout the majority of the United Kingdom (UK). What we do not seem to know is how much contaminated land there is throughout the UK and what the significance is of the contamination that is or may be present. Various studies have been made to determine the amount of contaminated land there is in the UK, and if the results of the various studies are to be believed the liabilities associated with this land are massive. A study1 in 1998, for example, found that 58 000 hectares of brownfield land was unused or potentially available for development. In another study,2 it was found that at least 30% of petrol stations contaminated groundwater. 

Many detailed descriptions have been made about the new statutory regime for CONTAMINATED LAND in the UK, and the reader can refer to these or preceding chapters of this publication to obtain a detailed description of the provisions. All that I would like to stress is that the system is essentially one that is likely to be used as a last resort in circumstances where land is a real environmental problem and remedial works need to be undertaken in a timely manner. The provisions should not be taken out of context and should not be considered as if they apply to all areas of contamination, since they are reserved for only the most serious of polluted sites. 

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