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BOC Immingham Dissolved Acetylene Project Environmental Statement: Vol. 2 Main Text
7.7 The ‘suitable for use’ approach consists of three elements:
� ensuring that land is suitable for its current use;
� ensuring that land is made suitable for any new use; and
� limiting requirements for remediation to the work necessary to prevent unacceptable risks to
human health or the environment in relation to the current use or future use of the land.
7.8 Primary guidance for assessing and managing land contamination is presented in Contaminated
Land Report (CLR) 11 35 . This provides a technical framework for identifying and remediating
contamination through the application of a risk management process. The question of whether risk
is unacceptable in any particular case involves not only scientific and technical assessments, but
also appropriate criteria by which to judge the risk and conclude exactly what risk would be
unacceptable.
Legislation Relating to Controlled Waters
7.9 Protection of groundwater from new developments is regulated in the UK by the updated
Groundwater Regulations 2009 36 which predominantly control the acceptability of discharge of
certain chemical species into groundwater from new activities, especially where the activities are
not covered by other regimes. It regulates the following areas:
� development of criteria for assessing good groundwater status;
� identification and reversal of trends of chemical groundwater pollutants; and
� measures to prevent or limit pollutant inputs into groundwater.
7.10 The Water Framework Directive 2000 37 aims to provide a comprehensive and holistic water policy
for Europe by establishing a consistent legal framework for the protection, improvement and
sustainable use of water. The overarching objective is to protect aquatic ecosystems by ensuring
that all surface, transitional, coastal and groundwater across Europe should reach good
ecological, chemical and quantitative status by 2015.
7.11 In addition, the Water Resources Act 1991 (as amended by the Water Act 2003) 38 aims to improve
the management of water resources and protection to the environment by changing the way that
water abstraction and impoundment is regulated.
Environmental Damage Regulations
7.12 The Environmental Damage Regulations, 2009 39 bring the EU Environmental Liability Directive of
2004 40 into law in the UK. The overall objective is to ensure that the environment is fully protected
against the most serious environmental damage. The Regulations require polluters to prevent and
repair damage to water systems, land quality, species and their habitats and protected sites. If any
business carries out an activity that causes environmental damage there is a requirement to
remedy the damage and if there is a risk of damage from the business activities, this must be
prevented.
Environmental Permitting and Pollution Control for Contamination
7.13 There is a wide range of legal requirements that address Environmental Permitting and pollution
control for contamination. Best practice guidance documents have been produced by the EA and
organisations such as the Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA)
which are designed to prevent pollution during construction.
5100935.404 Environmental Statement August 2011 89