Contaminated Land Bundle Project

Under Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, every local authority has a duty to inspect its borough to identify potentially contaminated land. In certain circumstances the Environment Agency becomes the regulatory authority if sites are determined as contaminated land and also fall within the description of a Special Site as defined in the Contaminated Land (England) Regulations 2006.

However, the Contaminated Land (England) (Amendment) Regulations were revised in 2012 to incorporate changes to Regulation 3b, which sets out the types of surface water pollution that can be considered a Special Site; and the Statutory Guidance was updated to introduce a significance test. Subsequent changes to legislation now the UK has fully left the European Union and the way we carry out water quality monitoring for the purposes of Water Framework Directive reporting have restricted the categories of surface water pollution we can consider under Regulation 3b. Only significant pollution or significant possibility of significant pollution to a Bathing Water protected area or a Shellfish protected area now constitutes a Special Site under Regulation 3b. Environment Agency have secured funding to implement a 'package' of three Contaminated Land site reviews to be awarded to an expert consultant as a single commission. The work will mostly be desk based with some limited sampling from existing boreholes, reviewing data to establish whether these sites still meet the criteria of being Contaminated Land under Part 2A EPA 1990 and the revised Statutory Guidance 2012.

Additional information:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/homes-england-multidisciplinary-technical-services-framework-2019-2023