CL:AIRE believes strongly in forming close working relationships that are mutually beneficial and supportive.  Consequently CL:AIRE's newly launched company-wide membership is for organisations who wish to receive unbridled access to CL:AIRE's library, plus technical, networking and commercial advantages described on the CL:AIRE Membership web-pages.  Through the available training discounts alone, CL:AIRE Membership could represent a direct saving to your company's bottom line. 

The first Technology Demonstration Project (TDP) Report made available under membership-only, will be at the end of this month.  The report (TDP20)  titled: Design and Installation of a Permeable Reactive Barrier to Treat Carbon Disulphide-contaminated Groundwater, represents the first application of zero-valent iron for the treatment of groundwater contaminated with carbon disulphide.

As part of CL:AIRE's 10th Anniversary Season and the launching of CL:AIRE Membership, we have taken the opportunity to remove the logging-in requirement to access CL:AIRE’s entire Bulletin range, which we feel will provide users with greater access to the technical information that they may need.  CL:AIRE Bulletin's are available under www.claire.co.uk/library together with Membership-only content.

HMRC has published its draft guidance on the revised Land Remediation Relief for comment, which can be found in full here>>> .

The intention is that, as far as possible, companies will know whether or not they are entitled to Land Remediation Relief on the basis of the risk assessments carried out as good practice in re-developing land in a contaminated state. HMRC is inviting interested parties to raise issues of how the legislation applies to a situation not covered in the draft guidance. HMRC has asked for comments by 31 July 2009.

Alternatively, to read the Bulletin summary click ‘read more’.

Further to last week's resignation of Jane Kennedy, Minister of State for Food, Farming and the Environment, Jim Fitzpatrick MP has been appointed into the role.

In other Defra news, the review of Waste Exemptions from Environmental Permitting Consultation process has been delayed due to an increased number of policy issues requiring resolution, stemming from the 285 received consultation responses.  The date for revised implementation is now moved from the scheduled October 2009, to April 2010.

CL:AIRE is delighted to announce its 10th Anniversary Conference to be held at the Barbican Centre on the 1st July. The conference content is designed to provide delegates with a perspective on remediation technologies through authoritative presentations on their evolution since establishment. Other presentations will look at the issues of sustainability within contaminated land management and decisions which can be made in the present economic climate.

A number of projects awarded ‘CL:AIRE Project' status will also be presented as part of the day. The conference is aimed at the whole contaminated land community and will provide delegates with an excellent opportunity to learn about and discuss where demonstration and applied research has come from and is heading to in the UK.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) published its report 'Dealing with land contamination in Scotland', which represents the first attempt to show the extent of contaminated land and potentially contaminated land in Scotland. The report was published on the 26^th May 2009.

There is a significant amount of interest in land contamination from a variety of groups including local authorities, land developers, environmental consultants, academic institutions and the general public. This report, which was prepared by SEPA at the request of Scottish Ministers, details the progress made in implementing the contaminated land regulatory regime, commonly known as Part IIA, through which local authorities (and in some circumstances SEPA) effect remediation of land contamination that is posing unacceptable risk to health or the environment.