Part IIa determinations

Land contamination may occur as a result of spills, leaks and discharges of polluting and toxic chemicals, disposal of liquid and solid waste and unregulated historical land uses

Part IIa of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and Section 57 of the Environment Act 1995 places a responsibility on the Local Authority to assess historical contamination on land in their area and if proven to enforce remedial actions.

Under UK law, your property could be determined as being contaminated and require remedial actions

In the first instance it is the responsibility of the polluter to pay for dealing with any contamination but if the polluter cannot be found the responsibility falls onto the current landowner. What has to be demonstrated for a site to be determined as contaminated under Part IIa is that there is a significant risk of significant harm to sensitive receptors (either human health, controlled waters or the environment).

… the responsibility of clean-up could fall to the current landowner

WD Environmental has worked for both land owners and Local Authorities to determine whether land will fall under Part IIa legislation. An appropriate sampling strategy is undertaken during the Environmental Site Assessment to determine the active source-pathway-receptor linkage and if required to be followed by a Risk Assessment. This will lead to the land either being determined as contaminated or not under Part IIa legislation. The next step will be to decide on the appropriate Remedial Strategy for the site and to implement the remedial scheme