Information Held by Environment Canterbury

Contaminated Site Information Management Strategy

Environment Canterbury has a responsibility to manage and release contaminated site information it collects appropriately, recognizing its sensitivity.

The Contaminated Site Information Management Strategy (1999) outlines how Environment Canterbury manages this information in a clear and consistent manner, involving parties with an interest in decision-making and management of sites. Assessment of information on these sites helps to ensure that adverse environmental effects arising from land contamination are remedied or mitigated, to an acceptable level of risk.

The strategy is implemented by:

identifying contaminated sites, and sites in the region that have activities or industries on the Hazardous Activities and Industries List HAIL
verifying information held about these sites
registering these sites on the Listed Land Use Register (LLUR)
controlling the release of information to maximize its benefit and minimize misunderstandings.

Following the publication of the Ministry for the Environment’s Contaminated Land Management Guidelines No. 4 (Classification and Information Management Protocols), the Contaminated Site Information Management Strategy is currently being reviewed and will be available on the website in the near future.

How do we identify contaminated sites?

In order to identify sites that may be contaminated, Environment Canterbury uses the Ministry for the Environment's Hazardous Activities and Industries List HAIL You are leaving Envrionment Canterbury which lists 53 specific land uses that have the potential to cause contamination of sites.

Some common examples of local land uses which may cause contamination are:

sheep dips (contaminated with arsenic and other insecticides)
timber treatment sites
former gasworks
closed landfills
fuel service stations
horticultural sites.

As sites are identified as having a hazardous activity or industry they are added to our Listed Land Use Register (LLUR). This allows us to record information using standard procedures that involve input from the site owner. The use of a register means we can prioritise sites requiring further attention and thus effectively reduce the risks from contaminated land to human health and the environment.

We have a long term plan to identify all sites which have a land use included on the HAIL in Canterbury, within the next ten years. Visit our Current Projects page for more information on this.

Listed Land Use Register

The Listed Land Use Register (LLUR) is an electronic database which Environment Canterbury uses to store specific information about sites that have a past or present land use detailed on the Hazardous Activities and Industries List. Sites included on the database are assigned a category depending on how much is known about the site.

Find out more about the PDF File registering of sites on the LLUR File Size 49kb.

How many sites are on the Register?

In February 2007, the number of sites entered on the Listed Land Use Register was as follows:

Contaminated Sites in Canterbury

What do I do if my site is on the Register?

If your site is on the Listed Land Use Register then you, or the previous owner, will have received the opportunity to have input into the information that ECan holds. Contact us if you are a new property owner and you want to know more about the details we hold about your site.

It is very important to realise that inclusion of a site on the LLUR does not necessarily mean that the site is contaminated, unless sampling data have shown this. Inclusion on the LLUR indicates that the land has accommodated an activity or industry that has the potential to cause contamination.

Summary details on any contaminated site assessment work are included on the Listed Land Use Register. If you have any information that you think we might not have, please contact us.

How does Environment Canterbury make sure that the information on the Register is correct?

Including a site on the Register is a serious issue, therefore Environment Canterbury has a process to make sure that the information we include is correct.

The site owner has the right to access all information held about their property by Environment Canterbury. Contact us for further information.

Can I get information about a site I am interested in?

Environment Canterbury may hold information about the contamination status of a site that you are interested in. You can request a search for this information by filling in an on-line or printable version of a Land Information Request form, or by contacting customer services. There is a charge for a full Land Information Request. However, if you only want to know about the contamination status of a site that information will be provided free of charge. Make sure you indicate which option you want on the LIR form.

Who has access to the information Environment Canterbury holds?

Environment Canterbury recognises the sensitive nature of the information it holds about sites which are, or may be, contaminated.

Information about site contamination is generally only released to affected parties or when a property enquiry is received for a particular parcel of land. However, there are a few sites where the site owners and stakeholders have needed to inform the public of contamination.