From Paul Board
Llandudno, Gwynedd
David Rimmer refers to the Dutch approach to soil protection in his article
(Forum, 19 July, p 50).
Unfortunately he is just a little out of date. The Dutch
environment minister, Margaretha de Boer, announced a major policy reversal from
the previous “multifunctionality” approach to soil protection at a meeting in
Amsterdam on 29 May.
With estimated cleanup costs of $50 billion for contaminated sites,
she announced a “fundamental change in direction”, with more cleanup costs being
shouldered by industry. A reduction in costs would be achieved by both
“orientating remediation operations to a site’s designated use” and “preventing
dispersal of contaminants into the groundwater”.
This brings the Dutch much in line with Britain’s current “suitable for use”
approach.
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