Under the contaminated land provisions contained within
Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 a local authority
is required to "cause its area to be inspected from time to time
for the purpose of identifying contaminated land".
The Contaminated Land Inspection Strategy provides
the framework for undertaking this task. The strategy provides a
means of dealing with the legacy of land contamination across the
district of South Somerset. Sites which are potentially
contaminated will be identified and assessed to highlight those
sites which are most likely to pose the greatest risks.
The principal driver for remediation of land in the South
Somerset District will continue to be via redevelopment and the
planning regime. However the inspection strategy process and
underlying Part IIA legislation provides a means of dealing with
sites which are not being dealt with via other mechanisms. Should a
site be found to be posing unacceptable risks according to the
definitions in the act then the site may be determined as
"contaminated land". In such cases appropriate persons will be held
liable for the costs of any required remediation.
The original Inspection Strategy document was published in 2001
and a revision was issued in January 2005. The completion of
the strategy is an ongoing process and annual progress reports will
be completed each January.
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