New Statutory Regulations for Clean-up of Contaminated Land in England and Wales

A new era in environmental law in England and Wales has begun. On February 16, 2000, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) issued long-expected statutory guidance and regulations (Regulations) on identifying, remediating, and determining liability for Contaminated Land in England and Wales. Under the Regulations, local authorities are charged with performing inspections to find Contaminated Land, and cleaning them up to site-specific standards. Companies operating in England and Wales now face the prospect of having to investigate and clean up their current and former facilities, even if they did not cause the contamination.

In a March 20 letter sent to the heads of major British companies, Environment Minister Michael Meacher advised industry to start investigating and addressing contamination at their sites, and not wait for local authorities to take action. Although there is no requirement for companies to take such actions, there may be advantages to doing so.

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