New Basque soil decree enters into force

The new law establishes the obligations of potentially polluting activities.

Decree 209/2019, approved by the Basque Government Council, which develops Law 4/2015, of June 25, 2015 for the prevention and correction of soil pollution, has been in force since last January 23. With this implementation, Decree 199/2006, which developed the previous regulation (Law 1/2005, currently replaced by Law 4/2014) in all aspects related to the content and scope of soil quality investigations, is repealed.

This new legislation establishes the regulatory and legal framework applicable to contaminated soils and details the documentation and content necessary to know and control soil quality, as well as the associated administrative procedures.

The text also includes the updating and revision of the inventory of soils with potentially contaminating activities or facilities, as well as the catalog of such activities.

The Transitory Provision establishes a period of three months to submit a status report to the owners of the activities and facilities that are potentially contaminating the soil and that have not done so before.

The Decree aims to provide certainty to the current legal framework and to clarify the procedures and documentation to be provided, which will speed up the administrative response.

LITOCLEAN‘s professional experts have the necessary tools and training to continue complying with the guidelines set by the Basque Government in this new decree and to carry out the relevant investigations and actions based on the current legislation.