Committee publication · Correspondence · 11 February 2026
Correspondence to and from Natural Resources Wales, relating to the inquiry The environmental and economic legacy of Wales’ industrial past, dated 27 January
From: Welsh Affairs Committee
Inquiry: The environmental and economic legacy of Wales' industrial past
Summary
Correspondence between the Welsh Affairs Committee and Natural Resources Wales regarding an inquiry into Wales' industrial legacy. NRW clarifies its statutory role in contaminated land regulation: local authorities lead under Part 2A EPA 1990, while NRW provides technical advice on controlled waters. No central list of contaminated sites exists; NRW directs the Committee to local authority records and published datasets including historic landfill data.
Key findings
- Local authorities, not NRW, are statutory lead regulators for contaminated land identification and remediation under Part 2A EPA 1990; NRW maintains no central registry of contaminated sites across Wales
- Most remediation occurs through the planning system rather than Part 2A legislation; NRW's role is advisory on controlled waters risks and provision of discretionary guidance to developers
- NRW's most recent state-of-contamination report was published in October 2013; no subsequent update has been commissioned by Welsh Government
- NRW is conducting a three-year investigation into coastal landfill impacts on Marine Protected Areas, funded by the Nature Networks Programme, focused initially on the Dee Estuary pilot area
- Two Special Sites have been designated in Wales under Part 2A since 2001, with NRW as lead regulator; historic landfill sites predate modern permitting and fall outside NRW's direct regulation
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Ruth Jones MP, Natural Resources Wales, Ceri Davies, Steve Morgan, Welsh Affairs Committee, Local authorities (Wales), Welsh Government, UK Government
Notable line
“Most landfill sites in Wales are historic and predate modern permitting requirements. These sites are not regulated by NRW.”
Key Quotes
“Under Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) 1990, local authorities are the lead regulators for contaminated land.”
“Each local authority maintains its own prioritised list of potentially contaminated sites as part of its inspection strategy. These lists are not held centrally by NRW.”
“Members are particularly interested in the long-term impact of historical pollution from these sites both on local communities and the natural environment.”
“Most historically contaminated sites in Wales are addressed through the planning system, which is the primary mechanism for investigating and remediating land affected by past industrial activity.”
“NRW's role is to use the evidence we hold to guide where att ention and resources should be directed, and to advise on the funding and collaborative action that will be needed going forward.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗