The laws of UK encourage the restoration and promotion of contaminated lands with grants to redevelop sites in a detrimental condition due to reckless use without bothering about posterity or future generations. Clean up operations is part and parcel of such re development process.
Under the Town and Country Planning Act of 1990 local authorities monitor the reuse of such contaminated land. However, only upon sufficient restoration of such land back to its original condition before the misuse of the site in question.
Land contamination can lead to severe contamination of both ground and surface water.
Under the Water Resources Act of 1991 the Environmental Agency is authorized to carry out anti pollution measures to remove polluting matter from the soil that might contaminate ground or surface water.
The law is concerned with the determination of liability of those who contaminated the land or those who innocently became the owners of those contaminated land. The local authorities are required to identify contaminated sites in their area and take up program of restoration. The cost of such restoration has to be borne by the landowners and others responsible for the environmental degradation of the site in question. However, the law aims to ensure that the burden of such restoration cost is not thrust upon innocent parties not in any way responsible for such degradation.
