Abstract
The aim of this project is to provide a summary of the approaches taken by a range of specified countries to identify and remediate contaminated land and how the regimes work in practice, including funding sources. The specific countries will include the UK; USA; Canada; Republic of Ireland; France; Germany; Netherlands; Belgium; Spain; Italy; Poland: Czech Republic; Australia and Japan. The specific objectives of the project are: To determine the boundary between “contaminated” and “not contaminated” land in each country under specific legal regimes. This will include resolving the role of number-based thresholds and the basis on which such thresholds operate and the role of devolving case-by-case decision making to a regulator. To estimate the effectiveness of each country’s means of deciding what land is contaminated. This will involve assessing how proportionate, targeted, consistent and transparent this means is and how the country’s modus operandi is perceived internally and by external observers. To determine each country’s estimate of the scale of the task facing it. This will include estimates of the amount of potentially contaminated land and of progress in the assessment, identification and remediation of land contamination, including the means of remediation employed. To determine how countries decide on who pays including the implementation of ‘polluter pays’ (including the liability of state organisations), the liability associated with owning/ occupying land, strategies for ‘orphan’ sites and the role of state funding. To determine the size of the contaminated land sector in each country and what drives its activity; To determine how financial liability for contaminated land is attributed and a measure of the success of the approach taken; To determine how successful the regime is considered by those working within it; and To identify broad positives and negatives of the approach(es) taken within each country. The project will largely be literature based with targeted structured interviews with key individuals personally chosen because of the breadth of input they can provide as they are all heavily involved in formulating and/or implementing contaminated land policy in their countries. The main deliverable from this project will be a report detailing the research findings which will be of interest to the UK and international contaminated land communities. The report will be widely disseminated in agreement with Defra.
United Kingdom