Slough Borough Council

What is the legal definition of contaminated land?

Contaminated land is defined in Part II A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, and amended by the Environment Act 1995 as:

"any land which appears to the local authority whose area it is situated to be in such a condition, by reason of substances in, or under the land, that:

a. significant harm is being caused or there is a significant possibility of such harm being caused, or

b. pollution of controlled waters id being or is likely to be caused."

Local authorities are responsible for carrying out the work outlined in Part II A of the above Act.

So what are they? to prepare a strategy to inspect the land within the council's boundaries to identify contaminated land to ensure the remediation of any contaminated land to assign liability based on the polluter pays principle maintain remediation registers The Environment Agency also has some specific duties.

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