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STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS


2006 No. 1380

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, ENGLAND

The Contaminated Land (England) Regulations 2006

  Made 17th May 2006 
  Laid before Parliament 23rd May 2006 
  Coming into force 4th August 2006 

The Secretary of State makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 78A(9), 78C(8) to (10), 78E(1) and (6), 78G(5) and (6)[1], 78L(4)[2] and (5) and 78R(1), (2) and (8) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990[3], and those sections as applied in relation to harm, so far as attributable to any radioactivity possessed by any substance, by the Contaminated Land (Enabling Powers)(England) Regulations 2005[4]:

Citation, commencement, application and interpretation
     1. —(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Contaminated Land (England) Regulations 2006 and come into force on 4th August 2006.

    (2) These Regulations apply in relation to England only.

    (3) In these Regulations, "the 1990 Act" means the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

    (4) In these Regulations, unless otherwise indicated—

Land required to be designated as a special site
     2. —(1) Contaminated land of the following descriptions is prescribed for the purposes of section 78C(8) as land required to be designated as a special site—

    (2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b), "waste acid tars" are tars which—

    (3) In paragraph (1)(d), "authorisation" and "prescribed process" have the same meanings as in Part 1 of the 1990 Act (integrated pollution control and air pollution control by local authorities) and the reference to designation for central control is a reference to designation under section 2(4) (which provides for processes to be designated for central or local control).

    (4) In paragraph (1)(e), "Part A(1) installation", "Part A(1) mobile plant" and "permit" have the same meanings as in the Pollution Prevention and Control (England and Wales) Regulations 2000[9].

    (5) In paragraph (1)(f), "nuclear site" means—

    (6) In paragraph (5), "nuclear site licence", "licensee" and "period of responsibility" have the meanings given by the Nuclear Installations Act 1965[10].

    (7) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(g), land used for residential purposes or by the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes must be treated as land used for naval, military or air force purposes only if the land forms part of a base occupied for naval, military or air force purposes.

    (8) In paragraph (1)(g)—

    (9) In paragraph (1)(h), "chemical weapon" has the same meaning as in subsection (1) of section 1 of the Chemical Weapons Act 1996[13], disregarding subsection (2) of that section.

Pollution of controlled waters
     3. The circumstances to which regulation 2(1)(a) refers are where—

Content of remediation notices
     4. —(1) A remediation notice must state (in addition to the matters required by section 78E(1) and (3))—

    (2) A remediation notice must explain—

Service of copies of remediation notices
    
5. —(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the enforcing authority must, at the same time as it serves a remediation notice, send a copy of it to each of the following persons, not being a person on whom the notice is to be served—

    (2) Where it appears to the enforcing authority that the contaminated land in question is in such a condition by reason of substances in, on or under it that there is imminent danger of serious harm or serious pollution of controlled waters being caused, the enforcing authority must send any copies of the notice pursuant to paragraph (1) as soon as practicable after service of the notice.

Compensation for rights of entry etc
    
6. Schedule 2 to these Regulations specifies—

and makes further provision relating to such compensation.

Grounds of appeal against a remediation notice
    
7. —(1) The grounds of appeal against a remediation notice under section 78L(1) are any of the following—

    (2) A person may only appeal on the ground specified in paragraph (1)(d) in a case where—

    (3) If and in so far as an appeal against a remediation notice is based on the ground of some informality, defect or error in, or in connection with, the notice, the Secretary of State must dismiss the appeal if he is satisfied that the informality, defect or error was not a material one.

Appeals to the Secretary of State
     8. —(1) An appeal to the Secretary of State against a remediation notice must be made to him by a notice ("notice of appeal") which states—

    (2) The appellant must, at the same time as he serves a notice of appeal on the Secretary of State—

    (3) If the appellant wishes to abandon an appeal, he must do so by notifying the Secretary of State in writing and the appeal is then treated as abandoned as from the date on which the Secretary of State receives that notification.

    (4) The Secretary of State may refuse to permit an appellant to abandon his appeal against a remediation notice where the notification by the appellant in accordance with paragraph (3) is received by the Secretary of State at any time after the Secretary of State has notified the appellant in accordance with regulation 11(1) of a proposed modification of that notice.

    (5) Where an appeal is abandoned, the Secretary of State must give notice of the abandonment to any person on whom the appellant was required to serve a copy of the notice of appeal.

Hearings and local inquiries
    
9. —(1) Before determining an appeal, the Secretary of State may, if he thinks fit—

    (2) Before determining an appeal, the Secretary of State must act as mentioned in sub–paragraph (a) or (b) of paragraph (1) if a request is made by either the appellant or the enforcing authority to be heard with respect to the appeal.

    (3) The persons entitled to be heard at a hearing are—

    (4) Nothing in paragraph (3) prevents the person appointed to conduct the hearing of the appeal from permitting any other person to be heard at the hearing and such permission must not be unreasonably withheld.

    (5) After the conclusion of a hearing, the person appointed to conduct the hearing must, unless he has been appointed under subsection (1)(a) of section 114 of the Environment Act 1995[
19] (power of Secretary of State to delegate his functions of determining, or to refer matters involved in, appeals) to determine the appeal, make a report in writing to the Secretary of State, which must include his conclusions and his recommendations or his reasons for not making any recommendations.

Notification of Secretary of State's decision on an appeal
     10. —(1) The Secretary of State must notify the appellant in writing of his decision on an appeal and must provide him with a copy of any report mentioned in regulation 9(5).

    (2) The Secretary of State must, at the same time as he notifies the appellant, send a copy of the documents mentioned in paragraph (1) to the enforcing authority and to any other person on whom the appellant was required to serve a copy of the notice of appeal.

Modification of a remediation notice
    
11. —(1) Before modifying a remediation notice under subsection (2)(b) of section 78L (appeals against remediation notices) in any respect which would be less favourable to the appellant or any other person on whom the notice was served, the Secretary of State must—

    (2) Where, in accordance with paragraph (1), the appellant or any other person is heard, the enforcing authority is also entitled to be heard.

Suspension of a remediation notice
    
12. —(1) Where an appeal is duly made against a remediation notice, the notice is of no effect pending the final determination or abandonment of the appeal.

    (2) An appeal against a remediation notice is duly made for the purposes of this regulation if it is made within the period specified in section 78L(1) and the requirements of regulation 8(1) and (2) have been complied with.

Registers
    
13. —(1) For the purpose of subsection (1) of section 78R (registers) the particulars that must be contained in a register maintained under that subsection are specified in Schedule 3.

    (2) The following descriptions of information are prescribed for the purposes of section 78R(2) as information to be contained in notifications for the purposes of section 78R(1)(h) and (j)—

    (3) The following places are prescribed for the purposes of subsection (8) of section 78R as places at which any registers or facilities for obtaining copies must be available or afforded to the public in pursuance of paragraph (a) or (b) of that subsection—

Revocations
    
14. The Contaminated Land (England) Regulations 2000[20] and the Contaminated Land (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2001[21] are revoked.


Ian Pearson
Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

17th May 2006



SCHEDULE 1
Regulation 3(c)


SPECIAL SITES


     1. The families and groups of substances relevant for the purposes of regulation 3(c)(i) are—

     2. The formations of rocks relevant for the purposes of regulation 3(c)(ii) are—



SCHEDULE 2
Regulation 6


COMPENSATION FOR RIGHTS OF ENTRY ETC


Interpretation
     1. In this Schedule—

Period for making an application
     2. An application for compensation must be made within the period beginning with the date of the grant of the rights in respect of which compensation is claimed and ending on the expiry of whichever is the latest of the following periods—

Manner of making an application
     3. —(1) An application must be made in writing and delivered at or sent by pre–paid post to the last known address for correspondence of the appropriate person to whom the rights were granted.

    (2) The application must contain, or be accompanied by—

Loss and damage for which compensation payable
     4. Subject to paragraph 5(3) and (5)(b), compensation is payable under section 78G(5) for loss and damage of the following descriptions—

Basis on which compensation assessed
     5. —(1) The following provisions have effect for the purpose of assessing the amount to be paid by way of compensation under section 78G(5).

    (2) The rules set out in section 5[23] of the 1961 Act (rules for assessing compensation), so far as applicable and subject to any necessary modifications, have effect for the purpose of assessing any such compensation as they have effect for the purpose of assessing compensation for the compulsory acquisition of an interest in land.

    (3) No account must be taken of any enhancement of the value of any interest in land, by reason of any building erected, work done or improvement or alteration made on any land in which the grantor is, or was at the time of erection, doing or making, directly or indirectly concerned, if the Lands Tribunal is satisfied that the erection of the building, the doing of the work, the making of the improvement or the alteration was not reasonably necessary and was undertaken with a view to obtaining compensation or increased compensation.

    (4) In calculating the amount of any loss under paragraph 4(e), expenditure incurred in the preparation of plans or on other similar preparatory matters must be taken into account.

    (5) Where the interest in respect of which compensation is to be assessed is subject to a mortgage—

    (6) Compensation under section 78G(5) must include an amount equal to the grantor's reasonable valuation and legal expenses.

Payment of compensation and determination of disputes
     6. —(1) Compensation payable under section 78G(5) in respect of an interest which is subject to a mortgage must be paid to the mortgagee or, if there is more than one mortgagee, to the first mortgagee and must, in either case, be applied by him as if it were proceeds of sale.

    (2) Amounts of compensation determined under this Schedule are payable—

    (3) Any question as to the application of paragraph 5(3) or of disputed compensation must be referred to and determined by the Lands Tribunal.

    (4) In relation to the determination of any such question, sections 2[24] and 4 of the 1961 Act (which provide for the procedure on reference to the Lands Tribunal and costs) apply as if—



SCHEDULE 3
Regulation 13(1)


PARTICULARS PRESCRIBED FOR THE PURPOSE OF SECTION 78R(1)


Remediation notices
     1. In relation to a remediation notice served by the enforcing authority—

Appeals against remediation notices
     2. Any appeal against a remediation notice served by the enforcing authority.

     3. Any decision on such an appeal.

Remediation declarations
     4. Any remediation declaration prepared and published by the enforcing authority under section 78H(6).

     5. In relation to any such remediation declaration—

Remediation statements
     6. Any remediation statement prepared and published by the responsible person under section 78H(7) or by the enforcing authority under section 78H(9).

     7. In relation to any such remediation statement—

Appeals against charging notices
     8. Any appeal under section 78P(8) against a charging notice served by the enforcing authority.

     9. Any decision on such an appeal.

Designation of special sites
     10. In the case of the Environment Agency, as respects any land in relation to which it is the enforcing authority, and in the case of a local authority, as respects any land in its area—

Notification of claimed remediation
     11. Any notification given to the enforcing authority for the purposes of section 78R(1)(h) or (j).

Convictions for offences under section 78M
     12. Any conviction of a person for any offence under section 78M in relation to a remediation notice served by the enforcing authority, including the name of the offender, the date of conviction, the penalty imposed and the name of the Court.

Guidance issued under section 78V(1)
     13. In the case of the Environment Agency, the date of any guidance issued by it under subsection (1) of section 78V and, in the case of a local authority, the date of any guidance issued by the Agency to it under that subsection.

Other environmental controls
     14. Where the enforcing authority is precluded by virtue of section 78YB(1) or 78YB(2B)[
25] from serving a remediation notice—

     15. Where the enforcing authority is precluded by virtue of section 78YB(3) from serving a remediation notice in respect of land which is contaminated land by reason of the deposit of controlled waste or any consequences of its deposit—

     16. Where, as a result of a consent given under Chapter 2 of Part 3 of the Water Resources Act 1991 (pollution offences), the enforcing authority is precluded by virtue of section 78YB(4) from specifying in a remediation notice any particular thing by way of remediation which it would otherwise have specified in such a notice,—



EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)


These Regulations consolidate the provisions of the Contaminated Land (England) Regulations 2000 (S.I. 2000/227) and the Contaminated Land (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2001 (SI 2001/663) with amendments. These Regulations, which apply to England only, also set out provisions relating to the identification and remediation of contaminated land under Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 ("the 1990 Act").

The Regulations make provision for an additional description of contaminated land that is required to be designated as a special site (see regulation 2): that is, land which is contaminated land as a result of radioactive substances in, on or under that land.

The Regulations also remove provisions relating to appeals against remediation notices to a magistrates' court, as a result of amendments to section 78L of the 1990 Act made by section 104 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005[
30].

Regulations 2 and 3, and Schedule 1, identify those categories of site (known as "special sites") in relation to which the Environment Agency is to be the enforcing authority. Local authorities are the enforcing authority in relation to any other type of site.

Regulations 4 and 5 provide for the content and service of copies of "remediation notices", that is, notices served by a local authority or the Environment Agency specifying what is to be done by way of remediation and the time for taking any action.

Regulation 6 and Schedule 2 make provision in relation to the compensation which is to be paid in accordance with section 78G(5) of the 1990 Act to a person who grants, or joins in granting, rights of entry etc required to enable a person to comply with a remediation notice.

Regulations 7 to 12 make provision with respect to appeals against remediation notices, including the grounds of appeal and the procedure to be followed.

Regulation 13 and Schedule 3 prescribe the particulars of matters which are required under section 78R of the 1990 Act to be placed on a register maintained by local authorities or, in the case of special sites, by the Environment Agency.

To the extent that provisions in these Regulations arise solely by virtue of the consolidation, no Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared in relation to these provisions, as there is no additional impact on the costs of business. In so far as the Regulations extend to land contaminated by radioactive substances, a Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared and placed in the library of each House of Parliament. Copies of this document can be obtained from the Radioactive Substances Division, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Zone 3/G27, Ashdown House, 123 Victoria Street, London, SW1E 6DE.


Notes:

[1] Section 78G(6) provides that regulations made under subsection 78G(5) may make such provision in relation to compensation as may be made by regulations by virtue of section 35A(4) of the 1990 Act (c. 43) in relation to compensation under that section.back

[2] Subsection (4) of section 78L was amended by the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 (c. 16), section 104 and 107, and Part 10 of Schedule 5.back

[3] 1990 c. 43. Sections 78A to 78YC were inserted by section 57 of the Environment Act 1995 (c. 25). See the definition of "prescribed" and "regulations" in section 78A(9). The powers under these sections have been transferred in relation to Wales (see article 2 of and Schedule 1 to the National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/672)), and devolved to Scottish Ministers (see section 53 of the Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46)).back

[4] S.I. 2005/3467. By virtue of S.I. 2006/1381, Part 2A applies to the Isles of Scilly in so far as, by virtue of S.I. 2006/1379[a], Part 2A applies (with certain modifications) in relation to and for the purposes of dealing with harm so far as attributable to any radioactivity possessed by any substance.back

[5] S.I. 2006/1379.back

[6] 1974 c. 6.back

[7] 1991 c. 46.back

[8] 1996 c. 46.back

[9] S.I. 2000/1973.back

[10] 1965 c. 57.back

[11] 1964 c. 5.back

[12] 1952 c. 67.back

[13] 1996 c .6.back

[14] 1991 c. 56.back

[15] 1991 c. 57.back

[16] Section 78YB was amended, in relation to England and Wales, by S.I. 2000/1973, regulation 39 and Schedule 10, Part 1, paragraphs 2 and 6.back

[17] Section 27 was amended by the Environment Act 1995 (c. 25), section 120 and Schedule 22, paragraph 60.back

[18] Section 59 was amended, in relation to England and Wales, by the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 (c. 16), section 43(2).back

[19] 1995 c. 25.back

[20] S.I. 2000/227.back

[21] S.I. 2001/663.back

[22] 1961 c. 33.back

[23] Section 5 was amended by the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 (c. 43), sections 70 and 84, Schedule 15, paragraph 1, and Schedule 19, Part 3.back

[24] Section 2 was amended by the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980 (c. 65), section 193, and Schedule 33, paragraph 5.back

[25] Subsection (2B) of section 78YB was inserted, in relation to England and Wales, by S.I. 2000/1973, regulation 39 and Schedule 10, Part 1, paragraphs 2 and 6.back

[26] Section 27 was amended by the Environment Act 1995 (c. 25), section 120 and Schedule 22, paragraph 60.back

[27] Subsection (2C) of section 78YB was inserted, in relation to England and Wales, by S.I. 2000/1973, regulation 39 and Schedule 10, Part 1, paragraphs 2 and 6.back

[28] Section 59 was amended, in relation to England and Wales, by the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 (c. 16), section 43(2).back

[29] Subsection (3) of section 30 was amended by the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (c. 19), sections 22(3) and 66(8) and Schedule 9, paragraph 17(3), and Schedule 18, and by the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 (c. 39), section 180(1) and Schedule 13, paragraph 167(3).back

[30] 2005 c. 16.back


[a] Amended by Correction Slip. Page 1, footnote (d): at the end of line one, the second reference to "S.I. 2006/1381" should read "S.I. 2006/1379". back




ISBN 0 11 074602 3


 © Crown copyright 2006

Prepared 14 June 2006


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