Environmental Legislation and its Application to the Licensing of Remediation of Contaminated Land

摘要

Whilst remediation of chemically contaminated land is typically undertaken with a view to improving environmental conditions there are instances where it may have an adverse effect on another part of the environment. In order to minimise such risk legialative controls may be applied to the remediation process. This paper provides a brief outline of the main pieces of environmental legislation for which SEPA is the regulatory authority, identifies how these may be used to control remediation activities for contaminated land and provides an indication of the typical timescales associated with the application for the various consents, licences and authorisations. Other regimes such as Planning and Contaminated Land (Part IIA) may be used to determine the extent, nature and standard of remediation required.