Contaminated Land

The Environment Agency

The Environment Agency is a central government organisation (QUANGO) which is responsible for dealing with a wide range of environmental issues. Many of these issues interface with the responsibilities of the Council. As a result the Environment Agency and local authorities work closely on a number of environmental issues including contaminated land.

The Environment Agency's responsibilities include:

• Certain aspects of the Contaminated Land Regime
• Waste Management Licensing
• Authorisation of industrial processes
• Radiation
• Pollution of controlled waters (i.e. streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, ground water and groundwater)
• Flooding and flood defence

Under the Contaminated Land Regime (Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990), the Environment Agency is responsible for dealing with contaminated land set out within the Contaminated Land (England) Regulations 2000 (so called ‘special sites’). This includes:

• Site that are contaminating controlled waters
• Certain land uses set out within the legislation
• Defence land

Land uses that would be dealt with by the Agency include:

• Waste acid tar lagoons
• Oil refining
• Explosives
• IPC sites
• Nuclear sites

While the Council is still responsible for designating a site as contaminated land, for special sites the Environment Agency is responsible for investigating the land and then ensuring that it is appropriately dealt with.

Further information on the Contaminated Land Regime.

Details of local Environment Agency contacts.