Extension of EPA Part IIA to radioactive contamination Radioactive contaminated land was originally excluded from the scope of Part IIA to the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA 1990). EPA 1990, s 78YC states that EPA 1990, Pt IIA regime does not apply with respect to harm, or water pollution, which is attributable to radioactivity. However, the section gives powers to the Secretary of State to make regulations and guidance in relation to radioactive substances. These powers have been exercised in the form of regulations, in effect creating a parallel Part IIA regime for radioactive contaminated land: • the Radioactive Contaminated Land (Enabling Powers) (England) Regulations 2005, SI 2005/3467 • the Radioactive Contaminated Land (Modification of Enactments) (England) Regulations 2006, SI 2006/1379 • the Radioactive Contaminated Land (Modification of Enactments) (Wales) Regulations 2006, SI 2006/2988 The government published legally binding statutory guidance explaining how local authorities and the Environment Agency should implement the radioactive contaminated land regime (the RCL Statutory Guidance) in England. Equivalent guidance was published for Wales. The RCL Statutory Guidance is separate from the

What is a remediation notice? A remediation notice is a formal written notice that requires an 'appropriate person' to carry out the remediation of contaminated land under the Pt IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA 1990). For further information, see Practice Note: Contaminated land—meaning of remediation. An ‘appropriate person’ is: • the person(s) who caused or knowingly permitted the contaminating substances to be in, on or under the land in question (Class A), or • the owner or occupier of the contaminated land, but only where a Class A person cannot be found (Class B) For further information, see Practice Note: Contaminated land—identifying Class A and B appropriate persons. According to an Environment Agency's (EA) report on Dealing with contaminated land in England, only 19 remediation notices had been issued under Part IIA in England (one of which was in relation to a special site). This compared with 446 remediation statements and 24 remediation declarations. Similarly, the Natural Resources Wales' (NRW) report on State of contaminated land in Wales, revealed that only

What is contaminated land risk assessment? Risk means the combination of: • the likelihood that harm, or pollution of water, will occur as a result of contaminants in, on or under the land, and • the scale and seriousness of such harm or pollution if it did occur Therefore, assessing risk involves estimating what might happen, how bad it might be, and using this knowledge to help make decisions. It may be difficult to get exact measurements of contamination, know how widespread it is and predict what harm it may cause due to: • a lack of scientific information about how substances in the soil behave • variations in contaminant levels, eg they often vary with depth and from one spot to the next • variations in the possible effects of contamination in different circumstances, eg different land use, other contaminants in the soil, and • the difficulty of predicting when and how substances might cause harm to people, animals or water, or how they might react with other substances in the soil Risk assessments should

What is significant harm? Significant harm is one of two limbs of the definition of contaminated land in the Environmental Protection Act 1990, Pt IIA (EPA 1990). Contaminated land is any land which appears to the relevant local authority (LA) to be in such a condition, because of substances in, on or under the land, that: • significant harm is being caused, or there is a significant possibility of significant harm (SPOSH) being caused, or • significant pollution of controlled waters is being caused, or there is a significant possibility of significant pollution of controlled waters being caused For further information, see Practice Note: Contaminated land—definition of contaminated land. 'Harm' is defined as: • harm to the health of living organisms, or • other interference with the ecological systems of which they form part, and • in the case of humans, includes harm to property 'Significant harm' is not defined in the EPA 1990, Pt IIA. The question of what harm is to be regarded as significant must be determined in accordance with the

What is significant harm? Significant harm is one of two limbs of the definition of ‘contaminated land’ in the Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA 1990). Contaminated land is any land which appears to the relevant local authority (LA) to be in such a condition, because of substances in, on or under the land, that: • significant harm is being caused, or there is a significant possibility of significant harm (SPOSH) being caused, or • significant pollution of controlled waters is being caused, or there is a significant possibility of significant pollution of controlled waters being caused For further information, see Practice Note: Contaminated land—definition of contaminated land. 'Harm' is defined as: • harm to the health of living organisms, or • other interference with the ecological systems of which they form part, and • in the case of humans, harm to property 'Significant harm' is not defined in the EPA 1990, Pt IIA. The question of what harm is to be regarded as significant must be determined in accordance

What are controlled waters? 'Controlled waters' are defined in the Pt IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA 1990) as having the same meaning as in the Pt III of the Water Resources Act 1991 (WRA 1991) except that the definition of 'ground waters' is modified. Essentially, controlled waters include: • relevant territorial waters (eg sea water out to three nautical miles) • coastal waters (eg tidal waters) • inland freshwaters (eg rivers, streams, watercourses, lakes, and ponds that are not tidal) • ground waters (eg water stored in rock layers beneath the soil) For more information, see Practice Note: Contaminated land—meaning of controlled waters under Pt IIA. What is pollution of controlled waters? 'Pollution of controlled waters' means the entry into controlled waters of poisonous, noxious or polluting matter or solid waste matter. ‘Polluting’ matter, has a different meaning from ‘poisonous’ or ‘noxious’ matter. Pollute or polluting has its ordinary dictionary meaning, ie 'to make physically impure, foul or filthy: to dirty, stain, taint or befoul'. Whether matter pollutes

What remediation can be required? The enforcing authority can only legitimately carry out, or require an appropriate person to carry out, remediation under the Pt IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA 1990), which it considers 'reasonable' having regard to: • the cost which is likely to be involved, and • the seriousness of the harm or pollution of controlled waters The enforcing authority must have regard to the statutory guidance in determining what is to be done by way of remediation, the standard of remediation, and the reasonableness of the remediation. A person may volunteer to carry out remediation using a different remediation scheme to that which would be required in the remediation notice. When deciding whether such an alternative scheme is appropriate, the enforcing authority should consider whether it would achieve at least the same standard of remediation as would be achieved through compliance with a remediation notice. Of course, it is always open for an appropriate person, or any other person, to carry out remediation on a broader basis or to a higher

Owners of land affected by contamination may decide to remediate the land without formal action under Pt IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA 1990). Voluntary remediation should be encouraged wherever practicable, provided that the standard of remediation is at least equivalent to the standard required under Pt IIA. Developers and landowners of sites where land contamination has affected controlled waters can use the Environment Agency (EA)’s voluntary remediation advice service to receive regulatory and technical advice on whether the site has an acceptable or unacceptable risk of water pollution. For more information, see: LNB News 03/06/2026 48. Prohibition on serving remediation notices Enforcing authorities are prohibited from serving a remediation notice under Pt IIA in respect of contaminated land where appropriate remediation is being, or will be done without the service of a notice. In practice, this may occur where the appropriate person, or some other person: • agrees to carry out particular remediation actions, eg where remediation actions are agreed during the consultation period ('agreed remediation') • plans to carry out equivalent remediation, eg in accordance

Who may be liable? Anyone who is an 'appropriate person' may be liable for remediation of contaminated land under Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA 1990). An 'appropriate person' is any: • person who causes or knowingly permits contaminating substances to be in, on or under the land in question (Class A), or • owner or occupier of contaminated land, but only where a Class A person cannot be found (Class B) See Practice Note: Contaminated land—identifying Class A and B appropriate persons. Where contaminated land is identified, the enforcing authority must serve a remediation notice on each 'appropriate person' specifying what they must do by way of remediation—unless they are satisfied that appropriate remediation is being taken without serving a notice. Where there are two or more appropriate persons, liability is apportioned between the parties in accordance with the statutory guidance—see Practice Note: Contaminated land—process for determining liability. Where there is no appropriate person, the enforcing authority will need to determine who should pay for remediation. In most cases, the costs

Radioactive material that is deposited on the surface of or inside structures, areas, objects, or people.

A term relating to the commodity futures markets. A commodity is in ‘contango’ when later-maturing contracts are priced higher than those maturing sooner. This may occur when consumers buy futures contracts to protect themselves against price increases.

In legal practice, a contemnor is the person or entity found to be in contempt of court, or the respondent accused of contempt (for example, for breaching a court order or disrupting the administration of justice). The word is descriptive rather than a statutory definition, and is used across civil and criminal contempt contexts.Across the UK and Ireland, typical uses include committal applications for civil contempt (breach of injunctions or undertakings) and criminal contempt (conduct in the face of the court or publication contempt). Key features include: proof to the criminal standard; for civil contempt, knowledge of the order and deliberate breach must be shown; and sanctions can include imprisonment (including suspended committal), fines, sequestration, and orders to purge the contempt. Mitigation may follow prompt compliance or apology. Procedural safeguards include clear orders (often with a penal notice), proper service, and the right to legal representation.Jurisdictional notes: England and Wales use CPR Part 81 (and FPR Part 37); Northern Ireland uses RSC (NI) Ord 52; Scotland proceeds under the courts’ inherent power (the term is used but “committal” is not the usual label); Ireland proceeds largely at common law with procedures under RSC Ord 44. The Contempt of Court Act 1981 applies to strict liability publication contempt in the UK.