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Contaminated Sites

 

North Rhine-Westphalia's problems with contaminated sites are determined by

• the concentration of residential areas and industrial areas,
• the industrial development dating back to early beginnings of industrialisation,
• the characteristics of its industries and the change of industrial activities,
• the destruction of production plants and transport infrastructure during Word War II.

The site identification, investigation, assessment and remediation of former industrial, commercial, urban or military sites are very important tasks to prevent hazards and to redevelop affected sites.

In North Rhine-Westphalia the activities in the field of Contaminated Sites started in 1980. Since that time the State North Rhine-Westphalia has started and combined a lot of initiatives and activities, which focused on the technical and the financial support of the municipal and district authorities. The latter are under the law the enforcement authorities: They have to identify and to investigate the sites, which are suspected of being contaminated, and to enforce necessary further investigations and remediation by the responsible parties (e. g. the property owner, the party who caused a contaminated site).

The main tasks of the North Rhine-Westphalia State Environment Agency are:

• The elaboration and publication of technical manuals, guidelines and handbooks for the identification, investigation, assessment and remediation,
• The support of the Ministry of the Environment and Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
• The support of the municipal and district authorities in particular cases
• The operation of the information system "Contaminates sites and harmful soil changes".

      North Rhine-Westphalia State Environment Agency 2006