Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Contaminated land definition

What does Contaminated land mean? Land that contains harmful substances in, on or under it such that they are causing, or there is a significant possibility they will cause, harm to people or the environment, or pollute waters. In practice it covers sites needing assessment and remediation. In England and Wales and in Scotland, contaminated land is a defined term under part iia of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and statutory guidance. A site is determined where evidence shows significant harm, a significant possibility of such harm, or pollution of controlled waters (or, in Scotland, the water environment), demonstrated by a pollutant linkage (source–pathway–receptor). Local...

Contaminated Land: Apportioning Liability between Members of Class A and Class B Groups under Part IIA EPA 1990: Principles, Approaches and Case Law

Published by a LexisNexis Environment expert

Practice notes

Determining liability

Enforcing authorities should adhere to the five-step procedure set out in the statutory guidance for deciding liability under section 78F of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA 1990). Not every stage of that approach will be relevant in all matters. See Practice Note: Contaminated land—process for determining liability. At step five, the enforcing Authority must divide liability between the remaining members of each Liability group.

If a liability group has only one remaining member, that person is responsible for the whole of the costs allocated to that group.
If a liability group has two or more remaining members, the enforcing authority should apply the guidance on apportionment.

Different considerations apply to Class A liability groups and Class B liability groups.

Class A persons

General principles

When apportioning liability within a single Class A liability group, the enforcing authority must decide the proportion of costs each member should bear, having regard to the relative degree to which each member is responsible for creating or continuing the risk presented by the significant contaminant linkage (SCL)...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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