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Groundwater Protection in Selected Countries 2. Point Sources
Phase 1 and 2 Efforts to quantify the number of contaminated sites began in 1990, resulting in a database on contaminated soils (Inventario de Suelos Contaminados). The efforts have been carried out in phases. The first phase was carried out in the period 1991-93 and paid for by the Ministry of the Environment. During this phase, 250 contaminated sites were placed on the list. The second phase was carried out in 1994-95 and was also financed by the Ministry. In this phase, 120 additional contaminated sites were identified. At this stage, 18,142 industrial activities were identified and 4,902 sites were considered potentially contaminated. The 370 sites which were listed were all been investigated, generally including the collection and analysis of soil and/or groundwater samples. Phase 3 The third phase began in 1995 and is still in progress. In this stage, the Ministry has made a bilateral agreement with each of the autonomous regions and will finance 50% of the work. The actual investigations are administered by the individual autonomous regions. In phase 3, a much larger number of sites will be identified. For example, the region Andalucia alone has now identified 300 new sites. It is estimated that approximately 10,000 sites will be listed when phase 3 is complete (Lopez de Velasco, 1999). At present, 11 of the 17 regions have begun or completed phase 3 and work is expected to continue during the next approximately 3 years. 2.2 Time frame for clean-upThere exists no official time frame for the remediation of contaminated soils. The Ministry is aware that the cleanup will depend on the financing available, see below. 2.3 Total costs and financingCalculations of the cost for remediating the 370 contaminated sites is estimated to be 1,849 mill. ECU (EEA, 1997). The Waste Act of 1998 identifies the polluter as liable. If the polluter is unknown, the landowner is responsible. The Ministry has the option to fund a remediation and later recover the costs. Costs can be recovered either directly or by the transfer of an appropriate portion of the remediated property. Cost recovery is to take place over a 10-15 year period.
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