From 1 April 2000 local authorities in England will be under a statutory duty to inspect their areas for contaminated land (as defined) and to ensure its remediation.Details of the regime are set out in a Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) circular Contaminated Land, which is expected to be published in March.

The circular describes the implementation of part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Similar regimes are being prepared in Scotland and Wales.The definition of contaminated land is intended to cover cases where the state of the land is such that significant harm to health, ecology, property or water pollution is occurring or is likely to occur.From 1 April every local authority in England must keep a public register to record certain information about its regulatory activity under the regime.

The entries in these registers will build up slowly as authorities begin to discover and formally identify individual sites that meet the definition of contaminated land.New questionsBy agreement between the DETR, the Law Society and representatives of local authorities, a new question 16A on contaminated land has been added to the standard enquiries in part I of the forthcoming 1994 edition (revised April 2000) of form con29, Enquiries of Local Authorities.

The new question has four parts.

Two parts cover the position where the land that is the subject of the search may itself be identified as contaminated land; the other two concern the position where the land searched may be identified as being at risk of harm from other land.

New forms of con29 are being printed but old stocks may still be used since the local authorities have agreed that any con29 answered on or after 1 April will be treated as containing the new question 16A.This is an interim arrangement.

A wider-ranging review of con29 has already started and experience gained from the interim questions will be taken into account when a more comprehensive revision takes place.Public registersEntries will be made on the register as each case progresses, and consulting the register will provide a snapshot of the case at the time and will show which regulatory route is being followed.The purpose of the regime is not to create a register of contaminated land, but to identify land and secure its remediation, with the register acting as a permanent public record of the main stages of this regulatory activity; information is not removed from the register once remediation has taken place.

Authorities are not requi red to certify that remediation has been completed, that a site is safe or that no additional remediation work will be needed over time.Furthermore, the definition does not catch all land containing contaminants, or land where remediation has been previously carried out, as long as this remains adequate.The register should, however, provide prospective purchasers with useful information, may point to the existence of further information and may prompt further lines of enquiry.

It should help purchasers to satisfy themselves as to the condition of the property or related circumstances but it cannot provide a substitute for physical tests and surveys.Furthermore, entries will only appear on the register once land has been formally identified as contaminated land by the authority, so the absence of entries does not guarantee freedom from contamination or from risk of harm.Enquiry 16A.1Please list any entries in the register maintained under s.78R(1) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 in relation to the property.

The prescribed classes of entries in the register are set out in sched 3 of SI 2000/227.

Register entries for a case (except for 'special sites') begin when it reaches the stage at which a remediation notice is served, a remediation statement is issued, a remediation declaration is given, or some other powers invoked.Entries will therefore relate to land that has been formally identified as contaminated land and will disclose one or more of the following:-- remediation notices - served by the enforcing authority (the local authority or the Environment Agency) requiring remediation, specifying who is to do what, when, where, and who is to pay;-- remediation declarations - recording desirable remediation actions that were ruled out, for example, on grounds of cost or practicality;-- remediation statements - usually indicating voluntary remediation action or remediation being carried out by the authority itself;-- other environmental controls - detailing action under other powers, such as waste management controls or integrated pollution prevention and control;-- appeals against remediation notices and the appeal decision;-- appeals against charging notices - where authorities are seeking to recover the cost of remediation they have carried out.

Charging notices themselves, if issued by the local authority, will be entered on the local land charges register and disclosed by searches on form LLC1;-- designation of special sites - where the Environment Agency, rather than the local authority, acts as the enforcing authority.

The agency will keep its own register but will ensure that entries are copied to the local authority as well;-- notifications of claimed remediation - voluntary details supplied by any person of what they claim to have done by way of remediation, whether voluntarily or not.

Authorities are not responsible for the accuracy of such claims;-- convictions under s.78M of the Act - covering offences for failing to comply with a remediation notice.

They may help indicate whether or not remediation has been carried out, or how reliably;-- agency site-specific guidance - guidance given to local authorities where the Environment Agency sees a particular need.The register is to be made available for public inspection at the local authority's principal office, and a reasonable charge may be made for copies of entries.Enquiry 16A.2Has the council served or resolved to serve any notice under s.78B(3) in relation to the property?This notice is to be served on the owner, occupier and other appropriate persons (as defined) as soon as a local authority identifies contaminated land in its area.

The question should catch cases where formal identification of the property as contaminated land has been made but an entry has not yet been made on the register.Enquiry 16A.3Has the council consulted, or resolved to consult, with the owner or occupier of the property under s.78G(3) in relation to anything to be done on the property as a result of adjoining or adjacent land being contaminated?This question should reveal cases where the property being searched, while not necessarily 'at risk' (see below), might be the subject of the grant of rights to enable remediation to be carried out in respect of adjoining or adjacent contaminated land.

For example, rights to install monitoring equipment, undertake engineering works, or rights of access might be needed.Enquiry 16A.4Has any entry been made in the register, or has any notice been served or resolved to be served, under s.78B(3) in relation to any adjoining or adjacent land that has been identified as contaminated because it is in such a condition that harm or pollution of controlled waters might be caused on the property?This question should reveal cases where the property being searched is 'at risk' from adjoining or adjacent contaminated land.

The test of determining whether land is contaminated involves authorities identifying other places where harm or pollution might arise as a result.Scope of disclosureThe Environmental Information Regulations (SI 1992/3240 as amended) apply, in the normal way, to information disclosed by the council under this regime.

Where information is excluded from the register, its existence will nevertheless be recorded on the register.Solicitors with comments on contaminated land enquiries should contact Neil Gower at the Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A.