§ Mr. DenhamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has made of the costs to local authorities of carrying out investigations of land that my be contaminated, prior to issuing a remediation notice; and what provision exists for local authorities to recoup these costs and from whom if(a) a remediation notice is required and (b) no remediation notice is required. [35351]
§ Mr. ClappisonSite investigation costs vary greatly between sites, depending on the nature of the contaminants predicted to be present on the site and on the size of the site. The typical cost per hectare of investigations also varies with the overall size of the site being investigated. The Department of the Environment has commissioned consultants, WS Atkins Environment, to review the typical range of costs for different kinds of work.
Each borough or district council already has a duty, under section 79 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, to cause its area to be inspected from time to time to detect any statutory nuisances—including such nuisances caused by contaminated land. The contaminated land provisions in part II of the Environment Bill, which will form part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, 1071W will provide a similar duty for contaminated land, as specifically defined in those provisions.
The new regime does not provide for local authorities to recover costs they incur in investigating land prior to the service of a remediation notice. However, once land has been identified as contaminated land, a remediation notice can include a requirement for a more detailed assessment of the condition of the land to be carried out by the recipient of the notice.
The supplementary credit approval programme for contaminated land provides capital resources to local authorities for site investigation and remediation work. Since the inception of the programme in 1990, some £54 million has been spent on investigation or remediation on over 800 sites.
Nitrogen dioxide Carbon monoxide Peak hourly concentration (ppb)2 Annual mean concentration (ppb)2 Peak hourly concentration (ppb)3 Annual mean concentration (ppb)3 Manchester 352 26 17.8 0.5 Liverpool 97 26 5.8 0.6 Leeds 131 28 12.8 0.7 London1 235 44 11.0 2.0 Cardiff 264 22 7.2 0.9 Belfast 100 21 16.3 0.7 Glasgow 132 26 7.7 0.7 1 Cromwell Road. 2 Parts per billion. 3 Parts per million.