Guidance

Treat small volumes of contaminated soil and groundwater: RPS 215

Updated 3 October 2023

Applies to England

This regulatory position statement (RPS) does not change your legal requirement to have an environmental permit to treat contaminated soil and or groundwater, and temporarily store the waste or products used, when you carry out small scale:

  • remediation for pollution incidents or land contamination using the techniques listed in this RPS

  • site-specific remediation trials to find out if a technique listed in this RPS will be effective

Small scale means the specified volumes given in this RPS.

However, the Environment Agency will not normally take enforcement action against you if you do not comply with this legal requirement provided that:

  • your activity meets the description set out in this RPS

  • you comply with the conditions set out in this RPS

In addition, your activity does not cause (and is not likely to cause) pollution of the environment or harm to human health, and does not:

  • cause a risk to water, air, soil, plants or animals

  • cause a nuisance through noise or odours

  • adversely affect the countryside or places of special interest

Activity this RPS applies to

This RPS applies when you want to:

  • clean up a pollution incident

  • remediate existing (historic) land contamination

  • carry out a site-specific remediation trial

A site-specific remediation trial means using one or more of the established techniques given in this RPS to see if the type of treatment will work on a particular waste or site.

Conditions you must comply with

1. Be a competent person

You must meet the requirements of a ‘competent person’ as given in Environment Agency guidance on land contamination risk management as updated to use this RPS.

2. Tell the Environment Agency

You must tell your local Environment Agency Groundwater and Contaminated Land team in writing at least 5 working days before any work starts.

See Contact the Environment Agency. Clearly state this is connected to RPS 215.

You need to give:

  • your contact details

  • a site address and grid reference where the remediation or pilot trials are taking place

  • a site plan that clearly shows the site boundary

  • the name and details of the competent person

  • details of why remediation or trials are required

  • details if it is soil or groundwater you are treating or a combination of the two

  • the established technique or techniques you are using

  • expected duration of the activity

3. Meet the requirements for waste treatment

You must only treat:

  • soils

  • abstracted groundwater

You must not treat groundwater in situ.

All treatment must:

  • be within the site boundary as shown on your site plan

  • only use the established techniques set out in this RPS

4. Meet specified volumes

You must not treat more than 1,000 cubic metres in total of soil or abstracted groundwater. If you are treating soil and groundwater together, you must not exceed the 1,000 cubic metres limit.

5. Meet the requirements for treated groundwater

You must not discharge the treated groundwater back to the ground, groundwater or surface water without a groundwater activity or water discharge activity permit.

You must:

  • apply for a groundwater activity permit if you want to discharge the treated groundwater back to the ground

  • get permission from your local sewerage undertaker to discharge the treated groundwater to a foul sewer

  • only dispose the treated groundwater to an authorised facility that has the correct regulatory controls in place to accept the waste

  • apply for a water discharge activity permit to discharge the treated groundwater to a surface water

To find out more check the guidance on discharges to surface water and groundwater: environmental permits.

Some extremely low risk discharges do not need a permit and are excluded from control. You must get written agreement from your local Environment Agency Groundwater and Contaminated Land team that you do not need a groundwater activity permit.

6. Use established remediation techniques

You must only use these established remediation techniques:

  • air sparging

  • in situ and ex situ bioremediation such as windrows, biopiles and in-vessel reactors

  • biosparging

  • bioventing

  • chemical treatment such as oxidation and dehalogenation

  • ex situ treatment of pumped groundwater, using for example, chemical and biological treatment, air stripping, filtration or carbon adsorption

  • soil vapour extraction including dual phase

  • soil flushing including steam injection

  • soil washing

  • solidification and stabilisation

  • thermal treatment such as desorption and steam injection

  • treatment plant for sorting and separation

  • treatment plant for blending, mixing, bulking, screening, shredding, particle size reduction and or particle separation to facilitate remedial action

You can use the techniques on their own or in combination, where appropriate. For example, bioventing can be combined with soil vapour extraction.

The treatment you use must be relevant and applicable to the type of contamination present.

The Environment Agency expects your competent person to follow the options appraisal stage of land contamination risk management as updated.

If you want to use a remediation technique not listed in this RPS

To use a remediation technique not listed in this RPS you must either:

7. Meet storage requirements

You must store:

  • the contaminated soil or groundwater in a secure place

  • all liquid waste in containers and use secondary containment

If you are storing soil and groundwater together, you must not exceed the 1,000 cubic metres limit.

You must not:

  • import or treat imported waste

  • store waste for more than 12 months

You must provide details in your method statement of how you will temporarily store the waste, substances or product types used for the remediation.

8. Meet the requirements for emissions, noise and vibration, and odour

You must consider:

  • point source emissions

  • emissions with no set limits such as volatile organic carbons (VOCs), bioaerosols, fumes, dust, pests, litter, leaks to ground

  • noise and vibration

  • odour

Point source emissions

There must be no point source emissions to air, water or land, except from the sources listed in your method statement.

You must have an emissions monitoring plan in place. You must include this in your method statement. Follow the guidance in section B9.1 in form MPP2: deployment form for land and groundwater remediation.

You must not exceed any limits set within the emissions monitoring plan.

If your treatment activity involves stack emissions, you must:

Emissions with no set limits

For other types of emissions with no set limits such as VOCs, bioaerosols, fumes, dust, pests or litter, follow the guidance on how to control and monitor emissions for your environmental permit.

Noise and vibration

Noise and vibration must not impact:

  • workers at the site

  • local residents

If your treatment activity is likely to result in noise and vibration, you must develop trigger levels. You must follow the general guidelines for noise and vibration.

Odour

You must prevent or, where that is not possible, minimise odour.

You must include in your method statement:

  • appropriate measures to prevent odour pollution

  • contingency plans in place for unexpected odour

You must follow the general guidelines for odour in the guidance on how to control and monitor emissions for your environmental permit.

9. Produce a method statement

You must produce and follow a method statement.

As a minimum your method statement must include:

  • your contact details

  • details of the competent person as given in the guidance land contamination risk management

  • details of the site

  • a site plan that clearly shows the boundary

  • a brief site description, history and objectives for the remediation or trial

  • details of the waste to be remediated, extent of the contamination or pollution

  • details of what it is contaminated or polluted with

  • the date when work will start and how long you expect the remediation or trial to take

  • expected volumes to be treated

  • how you will temporarily store treated waste

  • details of the correct controls in place if you are going to reuse any treated material

  • details of all process plant and equipment

  • evidence that you have assessed the risks to the site and surroundings – you can use, for example, the conceptual site model template in section B7.1 of form MPP2

  • the mitigation measures you have in place for vapours, noise, dust, odour and other emissions to protect human health and the environment

  • the expected outcome

  • a contingency plan if the remediation or trial does not work as expected

You do not have to submit send your method statement to the Environment Agency, but you must keep records and provide these if they ask for them.

10. Complete the remediation or trials

You must:

  • complete the activity as soon as possible, but within 6 months from the date you told the Environment Agency that you want to operate under this RPS

  • only use this RPS once in a 3-year period for an individual site as shown on your site plan

11. Keep records

You must keep records for 2 years to show that you have complied with this RPS and make these records available to the Environment Agency on request.

If you change any of the records you must mark up what they are. You must use version control and not overwrite records.

The Environment Agency must be able to read your records.

You must keep records of:

  • method statement

  • volumes treated

  • verification of remedial objectives

  • any pollution incidents and how these were dealt with

  • any unexpected contamination

  • any correspondence with the Environment Agency

Apply for a permit

You must apply for an environmental permit if you:

  • need to do more trials or remediation at the site

  • want to undertake treatment for recovery or disposal above the limits in this RPS

For details of permits and permissions see the section on ‘types of regulatory controls’ in the guidance on land contamination risk management.

When you must check back

The Environment Agency intends to review this RPS by 5 October 2025.

The Environment Agency can withdraw or amend this regulatory position before the review date if they consider it necessary. This includes where the activity that this RPS relates to has not changed.

You will need to check back from time to time, including at and before the review date, to see if this RPS still applies.

This RPS remains in force until it is removed from GOV.UK or is otherwise identified as having been withdrawn.

If you cannot comply with this RPS

If you operate under this RPS but can no longer comply with it, you must stop the activity to which this RPS relates and must tell the Environment Agency immediately. You must notify the local Groundwater and Contaminated Land team.

Contact the Environment Agency

General enquiries

National Customer Contact Centre
PO Box 544
Rotherham
S60 1BY

Email enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk

Telephone 03708 506 506

Telephone from outside the UK (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm GMT) +44 (0) 114 282 5312

Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.