Contaminated Land

The Contaminated Land Regime

Part 3 of the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 contains the main legal provisions for the introduction of a contaminated land regime in Northern Ireland. The Order was enacted in 1997 but the regime is not yet in operation. The Part 3 regime aims to deal with the legacy of historically contaminated land through the “polluter pays” principle. This will ensure that, where possible, those who pollute the land will pay for its remediation so that it is “suitable for use”.

There are many benefits associated with the implementation of a contaminated land regime. The Part 3 regime will:

• Act in the interests of environmental and health protection;

• Encourage land regeneration and contribute to planning targets in the Regional Development Strategy and Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan;

• Assist the management of publicly owned land where previous activities may have caused contamination;

• Contribute to the principal objectives of the Water Framework Directive.

A public consultation on draft regulations and statutory guidance was published in 2006 – a copy of the consultation document can be downloaded from the link below

Consultation Paper on Proposals for the Contaminated Land Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 and Statutory Guidance (1.98MB).

A summary of responses to this consulation is also available. (84KB).

Soil Guideline Values (SGV)

An important part of the proposed regime is the provision of technical guidance for regulators to assist them in the determination of contaminated land. A Defra facilitated SGV Task Force has produced a paper entitled, “Assessing Risks from Land Contamination - a Proportionate Approach. Soil Guideline Values: the Way Forward”, which can be downloaded from  Soil Guideline Values: the Way Forward (620kb).