A site is defined as polluted if a “Site presents levels of contamination in the soil or subsoil or in surface water or groundwater such as to cause a health or environmental hazard. A site is polluted where even only one of the polluting substances found there has a value higher than the limits established in the present Law Decree.”

The equation “exceeding limits – pollution” must apply.

The Ministerial Decree 471/99 applies if the acceptable limit values are exceeded “; It is crucial that the attachment 1 shows the tables with the pollutants limits for:

  • Soil and subsoil, divided in limits for TOWN use (Public, private and residential green use) and
  • Economic use (commercial and industrial use);
  • Surface water (which refers to the limits of Legislative Decree 152/99 on water);
  • Groundwater

By passing just one of the thresholds is enough to qualify as a  “polluted” a site thus making it necessary for remediation.

The concentration value limits as of attachment 1, as already mentioned, are  crucial in order to understand from what threshold remediation should take place.

The site is considered reclaimed when (art. 4 paragraph 1):

  • the sources of pollution have been eliminated
  • the polluting substances non longer exceed the acceptable value limits

The Ministerial Decree in question clarifies which subjects have the obligation and the relative costs) to proceed with the reclamation.

  1. The obligation to proceed to reclamation is placed, firstly, at the expense of the person responsible for the pollution (art. 17 paragraph 2 of the Legislative Decree 22/97 and art. 7 of the Ministerial Decree). The person responsible could be, of course, either a private individual or a company
  2. Art. 9 even contemplates the case in which the owner of the polluted site activates the reclamation procedure spontaneously. The latter in fact, although not the person responsible for the pollution, and therefore, not being obliged to proceed with the reclamation, has the right to proceed as follows:

    • the operations of remediation constitute a real burden on the polluted site of a person’s property
    • the relative expenses incurred are assisted by the special real estate privilege on the site itself (as well as by a general securities privilege).
      This system of capital guarantees is necessary to guarantee the sustained expenses for reclamation operations (basically the property always guarantees the credit), and at the same time extends the responsibility for these expenses also to the subsequent buyers of the polluted site who respond with the value of the property (as well as, for those responsible of the pollution, with their same capital).
  3. If the responsible party for the pollution is not an individual or refuses to proceed to the reclamation (subject to the penalties provided for), and the site owner does not provide it, the operations are carried out by the Council of the Region if the latter does not provide it). Some important news regards the previous procedures of reclamation is that the intervention of the Public Administration is assisted by a guarantee system that (at least in theory) guarantees the recovery of the anticipated expenses from the Council.
  4. The pollution situation can also be ascertained by the public bodies in the exercise of their control functions (Article 8). To provide for reclamation will, however, always be: or those responsible of the pollution or the owner of the site or the Council.

Procedure

  1. If those responsible for the pollution do not do whatever necessary, within 48 hours of the pollution being verified the owner of the site has to notify the:

    • Council
    • Province
    • Region
    • Control bodies
  2. Within the 48 hours following those hours already indicated, those responsible for the pollution have to notify the Territorial Bodies (local authorities) about what emergency safety measures have already been taken to temporarily buffer the pollution situation (pending the definitive operation of remediation).
  3. Within the 30 days following the second communication the Council will verify the safety operations implemented.

Remediation and making the contaminated soil safe

Warehouse reclamation

Tank reclamation

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