The Environment Agency has reviewed and updated Regulatory Position Statement (RPS) 215.
This RPS applies when people want to:
- remediate existing land contamination or a new pollution incident
- carry out a site-specific remediation trial
It continues to allow operators to remediate specified volumes of contaminated soil and groundwater, without the need to apply for a permit and mobile plant deployment. They must be able to meet all the conditions of the RPS.
This update has made it clear:
- that this can also be used for new pollution incidents
- you must be a competent person as defined in Land Contamination Risk Management (LCRM) to use the RPS
- if you are treating soil and groundwater together, you must not exceed the 1,000 cubic metres limit
- that you must not store waste for more than 12 months
- what records you must keep, now for 2 years previously 6
- the requirements for emissions, noise and vibration, and odour
The RPS has been renamed to: Treat small volumes of contaminated soil and groundwater: RPS 215 and is expected to be published on Tuesday 3 October 2023.
If you have any queries on use of the RPS then you can contact your local Environment Agency Groundwater & Contaminated Land team.