Shigeru Takahashi

Hitotsubashi University, Faculty of Law
(1-2 Naka, Kunitachi-shi, Tokyo 186 Japan)

Abstract

Legal systems for remediation of contaminated sites in European countries are in the phases of establishment or refinement, but the speed of the government work is pretty high. For example, the Austrian Act for the Clean-up of Contaminated Sites was enacted in 1989 and revised in 1992 and 1993. The main features of Austrian System are that waste-contribution was founded and that the subsidies for the clean-up of contaminated sites are paid even to polluters. In Germany, the latest draft of the Federal Soil Protection Act was made on March in 1996. This draft is expected to pass through parliament, but some professors and lawyers estimate that the draft doesn't have a good chance.

Key words: Altlast (abandaned hazardous sites), soil contamination, remediation of contaminated sites, German law, Austrian law