Clean-up costs 'shifted to landowners'

Farmers and homeowners will be liable to pay for the clean-up of contaminated soil under legislation being considered by Parliament.

The charges would apply even if they were not told about the problem when buying the land, an environmental group warned yesterday.

The Sustainability Council said the Environment Ministry was paving the way for landowners to be forced to pay even for contamination that was legal when it occurred under previous owners.

In some cases, the soil contamination was the result of activities required by Government regulations, Sustainability Council executive director Simon Terry said.

The Wellington-based group has released a report that claims the Government is trying to add to the duties of regional councils the "remediation of contaminated land".

"This covers responsibility for the clean-up of historical as well as future contaminated land," Mr Terry said. The Government had inserted a "one-line bombshell" in its Resource Management and Electricity Legislation Amendment Bill - now before a select committee - giving regional councils responsibility for "the location, monitoring, investigation and remediation of contaminated land".

The Environment Ministry has estimated that the clean-up of contaminated sites would cost about $1 billion.

- NZPA