Govt proposes to introduce new rules to clean up contaminated sites

The ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) has proposed to introduce rules to clean up lands contaminated by hazardous substances. 

The ‘Remediation of Contaminated Sites Rules, 2024’ will cover the gaps in the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and various schedules of Hazardous and other Wastes (Management & Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016, and in the Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991, the ministry said in a 21 August draft notification.

The new rules were published in The Gazette of India on Thursday, and will come into effect after 60 days.

The National Environment Policy, 2006, recognizes industrial and municipal waste as a major cause of pollution and a major challenge in instituting remedial measures for cleaning up of toxic and hazardous waste, particularly, in industrial areas and abandoned mines.

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A number of probable and confirmed contaminated sites have already been identified, and there is need to carry out remediation of all confirmed contaminated sites under the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986, according to the notification.

If hazardous substances are mixed in mining waste, bio-medical waste and municipal solid waste at any site and if the contamination level exceeds the threshold specified in these rules, remediation of such sites will be covered under the new rules, the notification added.

However, this will not be applicable to sites contaminated by radioactive wastes as covered under the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 (33 of 1962), rehabilitation of abandoned mines, sites contaminated by mining waste, damage to environment caused by mining as covered under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015 (10 of 2015), and oil spills as governed by the Merchant Shipping Act of 1958, the Marine Insurance Act of 1963 and the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil) Rules, 1974, read the notification.

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A new panel will be set up 

A new committee, Central Remediation Committee, will be formed under the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to identify contaminated land, gauge the levels of contamination and prepare a clean-up plan.

The committee will also be responsible to determine the responsible persons, remediation costs, environmental damage and the liability for failure to comply with or contravention of any of the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, or the rules made, or orders or directions issued. 

The panel will specify the qualification criteria for the remediation contractor and site investigator in accordance with rules, determine and finalize the format and amount of financial security, direct the owner to hand over temporary custody and control of a confirmed contaminated site to State Pollution Control Board or Pollution Control Committee for carrying remediation activities and arrange for rehabilitation of residents, among other things. 

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To be sure, the government has the authority to take over control of land from private citizens, but it can only do so after paying a fair compensation and getting consent from the affected persons, as per land acquisition laws. Under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, the government also has to support rehabilitation of the citizens it disperses.

The CPCB may approve the utilization of funds from the Environmental Relief Fund under Section 7 (A) of the Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991, for contaminated sites where the responsible persons have not given funds for remediation or in case of orphan sites.

It will further prepare guidelines for imposition and collection of environmental compensation (EC) from responsible persons or entities in case of non-fulfilment of obligations or non-compliance of provisions under these rules. The EC funds will be shared by central and state governments. 

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The Environment Relief Fund was created in the wake of the 1984 Bhopal gas leak, one of the world's worst industrial disasters, under the Public Liability Insurance Act to hold polluting industries accountable for the damage. 

The MoEFCC's proposal is aligned with the “polluter pays” principle—a legal maxim that penalises polluters to financially compensate the victims of environmental damage.

The draft rules said if the government manages to identify the polluter, the costs of investigations as well the cost of making a clean-up plan will be first paid from the Environment Relief Fund. These costs, however, will be later recovered from the polluter and put back into the fund.

There is, however, a catch. Recently, the government asked the CPCB to publish the details of all pay-ins and pay-outs from the fund in an annual report. As per a 2023 Rajya Sabha disclosure, the Union government has not disbursed any money from the Environment Relief Fund since 2019.

The fund was worth ₹1,060.95 crore at the end of 2022-23, as per the annual report of United India Insurance Co. Ltd, the fund manager.