The Scottish Government has tasked the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to begin the first State of Contaminated Land Report for Scotland by the end of 2008.
SEPA is required to produce this report under section 78U Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA90). Believing it vital to set clear objectives for the report at the outset, SEPA wanted to speak to the wider contaminated-land community to hear their views on the contents and format of the report. In December 2007, SEPA in association with the Scottish Government and Environmental Protection UK, organised a major conference/workshop to discuss the possible contents and layout for this landmark report.

This article provides information on current work being undertaken by SEPA, in relation to contaminated land and waste regulation, as well as a quick overview of key points regarding the regulation of waste. It is designed as an update to the article in last year’s EIC Yearbook written by Kenny Boag (see below), Waste Policy Unit Manager at SEPA, which provided a comprehensive overview of the rules governing land remediation in Scotland.

The definition of what is waste, and the basic rules of how it must be dealt with, are set out in the EU Waste Framework Directive (the Directive). It sets out a common definition of waste across Europe. It controls recovery as well as the disposal of waste. The definition given in Article 1 of the Directive is “Waste shall mean any substance or object… which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard.” Annex I further specifies category Q15: “Contaminated materials, substances or products resulting from remedial action with respect to land.”

Therefore, where these substances are discarded during site development, their recovery and/or disposal are subject to Waste Framework Directive regulatory control...