Soil contamination is usually invisible: a slow leak from an underground fuel tank, years of oil draining into a workshop floor, or chemical drums stored without containment. It tends to appear at the worst moment: at sale, closure, expansion, or when digging foundations. Contaminated soil is governed by two implementing regulations of the Environment Law: the Regulation for Preventing and Treating Soil Pollution and the Regulation for Environmental Rehabilitation of Degraded Sites and Remediation of Contaminated Sites. This article explains how contamination is detected, how it is treated and who pays.
When is soil considered contaminated?
The soil regulation defines soil pollution as a decline in soil quality due to one or more substances in unusual quantities or concentrations that may directly or indirectly harm human health, wildlife, vegetation or surface and ground water. Its first annex sets soil protection standards by grain size (coarse soil such as sand and gravel with an average grain size of 75 microns or more, and fine soil such as silt and clay below 75 microns) and by land use. These standards are the pollutant levels above which a site is considered contaminated.
Signs that call for testing
- Dark stains or fuel or solvent odors in the soil.
- A history of spills, or hazardous materials stored without containment.
- Old underground tanks without documented leak testing.
- A previous use of the site with an unknown history, especially workshops, fuel stations and factories.
- Dead vegetation or discolored soil in a specific area.
Every facility's obligations regarding soil
Article 6 of the soil regulation requires everyone to:
- Take appropriate measures to prevent soil contamination or its likelihood, limit its spread and treat its source.
- Rehabilitate contaminated sites under the Rehabilitation Regulation.
- Keep up-to-date records of measures taken regarding soil contamination.
- Provide data on soil contamination levels whenever NCEC requests it.
- Notify NCEC of any change in soil pollutant levels and the corrective and preventive measures taken.
Prohibitions in the regulation include failing to notify NCEC immediately when soil contamination is detected within one's activities, submitting incorrect information or records, and failing to meet the standards during remediation.
The legal remediation path
The Rehabilitation Regulation requires a contaminated site remediation plan to be prepared and submitted to the National Center for Environmental Compliance (NCEC) when any pollution incident occurs during construction, operation or closure, or when NCEC requests it based on inspection or audit results. In practice:
- Assessment: site investigation, sampling and analysis to determine the type and extent of contamination.
- Notification: notify NCEC once contamination is detected.
- The plan: prepared by a licensed service provider, following the structure in the regulation's annex.
- Approval: NCEC reviews the plan and may inspect the site; on approval, the submitter undertakes to implement it as specified.
- Implementation and reporting: periodic progress reports documented with photographs, analysis results and an updated schedule, and immediate notification of any incident during remediation.
- Verification: proving the remediation targets were met according to the standards.
Who pays? The polluter-pays principle
The Rehabilitation Regulation requires anyone whose act or activity caused degradation or pollution to stop the source, remove the pollution, and rehabilitate and remediate the site, and to bear compensation under the polluter-pays principle, which it defines as the polluter bearing the costs of field studies, corrective measures, pollution control, rehabilitation and compensation. The penalties regulation also requires the violator to pay the compensation set by the competent authority within 60 days of notification, less the rehabilitation costs if the violator carries out the rehabilitation itself.
Why test before buying or leasing?
Liability follows the polluter, but proving contamination predates your activity requires evidence. Testing the soil before taking over an industrial site, fuel station or workshop, and documenting its condition, protects you from paying for pollution you did not cause. A declaration that the activity has no degraded or contaminated sites is also among the environmental approval requirements listed by the Saudi Business Center.
Frequently Asked Questions about Contaminated Soil
How do I know whether my site's soil is contaminated?
Visual signs help, but confirmation comes from sampling and analysis compared with the soil protection standards in the soil regulation, according to soil type and land use.
Must I notify NCEC if I discover the contamination myself?
Yes. The soil regulation prohibits failing to notify NCEC immediately when soil contamination is detected within one's activities.
Can I start remediation before NCEC approval?
Contain the contamination and stop its source immediately; the remediation itself follows a plan approved by NCEC, and any change to the plan needs its approval.
Who prepares the remediation plan?
An NCEC-licensed service provider; in exceptional cases NCEC may accept plans from highly experienced bodies it approves.
How Abak Green helps
We assess your site when contamination is suspected or before purchase or closure, coordinate sampling and analysis, prepare the contaminated site remediation plan to NCEC requirements, and follow implementation and reporting until the targets are met. Contact us about your site.
