Key Findings
Northern Ireland has yet to adopt the legislative framework for contaminated land now in place in Great Britain. BRASS was commissioned to undertake an analysis of the working of the British framework. This is significant work since it may affect the manner in which the Environmental Liability Directive (link) will be transposed in Northern Ireland, since the Directive deals with future pollution and the European Commission will expect Member States to deal with issues of historic pollution. This impact study of the British legislation has formed the basis of further papers.
In addition Robert Lee was involved in a project in Ireland where the Irish Environment Agency wished to devise a project whereby financial provision could be put in place to fund site re-instatement for land subject to regulatory controls over industrial pollution. This Guidance is now published in draft form (see below). Robert has also been involved in the creation of a 'Contaminated Land Network' - a trans-disciplinary science/social science research network across HEIs in Wales.
There is a lack of uniformity of method pursued by local authorities in devising contaminated land strategies;
Variation in method (particularly whether the focus is on sources of pollution or on the vulnerability of receptors) does affect the quality of information available in the strategies;
The availability and transparency of information on priority sites within localities is an important issue for business and for other professionals concerned with land development;
Many local authorities viewed the compilation of the register as a task in itself and follow-up in terms of inspections have been patchy with development rather than an inspection process driving land remediation;
The planning system would seem to be far more effective in achieving the effective remediation of brown land than the elaborate system of regulation under Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990;
Nonetheless, the contaminated land regime has produced significant shifts in risk assessment and management processes pursued by private parties in buying and selling industrial land;
This has led to voluntary remediation or at least for financial provision pay for the eventual remediation of the land at the time of land transactions.
