Contaminated Land Register

A contaminated land register is an official record maintained by governmental or regulatory authorities. It identifies sites that have been contaminated with hazardous substances to better inform land use planning, public health nearby, and also practical management of sites known to be contaminated.
A contaminated land register will involve site identification including geographic coordinates and any features that may help to identify it. A history of the site ownership or previous operations at the site by tenants may also be held. The details of the contamination at the site will make note of the specific substances and the source of contamination. For example – pesticides or diesel spilled in copious quantities.
Where possible the quantity, extent, and concentration or spread of the materials is recorded as well as the potential risks both now and for the future. The environmental remediation and management element of this register notes whether the site is being investigated and if there is a remediation plan as well as considering the regulatory status of the site – if any official classifications have been given to the site and what compliance measures are being enforced.
Contaminated land registers ensure that communities have access to information regarding potential health risks nearby whilst also helping to assess what land can and cannot be used for certain types of development. Environmental protection as well as transparency and public awareness will help in the prioritisation in allocating resources for clean-up and management as well as helping authorities to actively monitor contaminated sites.