Under Environmental Protection Act 1990, who is responsible for paying for contaminated land clean-up if the polluter cannot be found?

• A. The polluter
• B. The owner
• C. The local authority
• D. The government

Answer: (B)

The concept being tested is who bears the funding duty for cleaning up contaminated land when there isn’t a identifiable polluter. Under Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, the aim is to get contamination remediated by someone who caused or knowingly permitted it. If no such person can be found, the responsibility to fund and arrange the remediation falls to the owner of the land. The owner has control over the site and can be obliged to pay for remediation, with the local authority able to carry out the work if needed and to recover those costs by placing a charge on the land. The government or the local authority aren’t the default funders in this scenario.