The Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Contaminated Land (Scotland) Regulations 2000 require local authorities to inspect their area to identify contaminated land, to ensure it is reinstated where appropriate, and to maintain a register of contaminated land which is available for public inspection.
East Ayrshire Council's Environmental Health Service is responsible for delivery of the Contaminated Land Strategy, and has a dedicated Contaminated Land Officer who deals with all aspects of contaminated land surveillance and remediation.
The Council:
- publishes a Contaminated Land Strategy, which says how it will find contaminated sites in its area
- carries out inspections of land that may be contaminated
- finds out who is responsible for putting right the contamination and discusses the problem with them
- formally declares land contaminated
- agrees the necessary action and makes sure it is done
- keeps a Public Register of contaminated land sites, the action that was required to put the problem right and any legal action that has been taken.
In some cases the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency may take over the regulation of a site from the council, once it has been declared as contaminated land. A link to their website is provided opposite.