Contaminated sites
The Environmental Damage Department of the Ministry of the Environment is responsible body for the contaminated sites management, prevention and remedying environmental damage from the past and environmental liability through the Act No. 167/2008 Coll.
Contaminated site means any soil, land, rock formation, building constructions, surface or groundwater contamination caused by the inappropriate or illegal management of hazardous wastes and/or chemicals (e.g. petroleum products, pesticides, PCBs, chlorinated and polyaromatic hydrocarbons, heavy metals etc.).
Old/historical contaminated sites (ecological or environmental burdens/loads/damage) are those where either the polluter is unknown or polluter does not exist any more.
Unauthorized landfills, abandoned industrial places, agricultural factories and facilities, unprotected storage of hazardous wastes and chemicals, former military bases or any extracting, mining and quarrying mines areas might be considered as a contaminated site.
The Environmental Damage Department’s competency mainly covers remediation of the contaminated sites and the old environmental damage and other activities related to the issue. Due to the fact the management itself and specially the financing of remediation operations are not centralized and the other ministries and competent authorities are also dealing with the remediation and reclamation, common methodology is needed. The list of guidelines, guidance, recommendation and official views (available in Czech only) of the Environmental Damage Department for the whole process of remediation has been prepared. Information exchange, public awareness, data collection and its interpretation belong to other duties of the Department mentioned above.
Since 2005 the key data source is provided through the Contaminated Sites Database System – “Systém evidence kontaminovaných míst“ (SEKM). The SEKM publicly available system is fully compatible with all requirements of the European Environmental Agency. Priority evaluation and risk profile of each contaminated site is included in the SEKM. In 2008 the Guidance for Categorization of Priorities of Old/historical Contaminated Sites/Environmental Burdens was finalized (available in Czech only). The map of the Czech Republic’s most important and high priority old/historical contaminated sites (PDF, 1 MB) was prepared by the Department in 2008.
The Operational Programme Environment - priority axis 4, the area of action 4.2 - Rehabilitation of Old Ecological Burdens
Information for applicants about Statement of the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic, which is provided by the Department of Environmental Damage within the priority axis 4, the area of action 4.2 - Rehabilitation of Old Ecological Burdens.
Coal mining sites remediation
Solutions of contaminated sites caused by coal mining refunded from the Ministry of Finance in cooperation with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, The Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry for Regional Development and the Ministry of the Environment.
Removal of contaminated sites caused by the former Soviet Army
Information about the remediation of contaminated sites caused by former Soviet Army military bases in the Czech Republic.
Documents
- Implementation of the National Implementation Plan (NIP) of the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
The Stockholm Convention on POPs is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from chemicals that remain intact in the environment for long periods, become widely distributed geographically and accumulate in the fatty tissue of humans and wildlife. By the legally bound Government Resolution No. 1572/2005 the NIP of the Stockholm Convention on POPs was taken into a consideration. Short-, mid- and long-term actions are included in the NIP for period of 10 years.
- Act No. 167/2008 Coll., on prevention and remedying environmental damage and amendement on some laws
It is transposition of the Directive 2004/35/CE of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage. The Act came into force on 17 August 2008 in the Czech Republic.
