THE COUNTY COUNCIL OF THE CITY & COUNTY OF CARDIFF CONTAMINATED LAND INSPECTION STRATEGY May 2010 Strategic Planning and Environment Pollution Control Division City Hall, Cardiff CF10 3ND Tel: 029 20871165, Facsimile: 029 20827431 e-mail
[email protected] Part I – The Contaminated Land Regime EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On the 1st July 2001, the National Assembly for Wales enacted Section 57 of the Environment Act 1995, implementing Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Part 2A empowers Local Authorities to inspect their land for contamination. The legislation was introduced to improve the current system nationally and encourage identification and remediation of contaminated land. Cardiff Councils original strategy was produced in view of the government guidance ‘’Contaminated Land Inspection Strategies – Technical Advice for Local Authorities” (DETR) and was first published in October 2002 following statutory consultation with all relevant bodies. Due to changes in legislation and timescales the strategy has been updated and also details the progress that Cardiff Council has made in inspecting and assessing contaminated land to date. Local Authorities act as the lead regulator in land inspections except for prescribed cases where certain land is considered to be classed as “Special”. Sites identified as special sites are regulated by Environment Agency Wales with support from the local authority. Contaminated land is broadly land that causes or is likely to cause unacceptable harm to human health or the wider environment in its current use. For such land to be identified as likely to cause harm, it must firstly be identified as having a “pollutant linkage”. A linkage possesses a contaminant source, a designated receptor, and a pathway for the contaminant from one to the other.