Calculate your financial provision
Summary
The Environment Agency has published guidance on how operators of landfill sites must calculate financial provision before disposal operations begin. The guidance sets out what costs must be covered, including aftercare, monitoring, leachate management, landfill gas management and site security, and explains that provision must be calculated in today’s pounds and agreed as part of the environmental permit process.
Why it matters
This is relevant to surveyors involved in landfill, contaminated land or development sites near waste operations, as financial provision can affect site viability, permit conditions and long-term liabilities. It also highlights the cost assumptions and monitoring obligations that may influence due diligence, valuation and risk assessment.
Key points
- Financial provision must be in place before landfill disposal operations start.
- Aftercare costs must be estimated for 60 years for hazardous and non-hazardous landfill, and 3 years for inert landfill.
- Provision must be calculated in today’s pounds, without discounting to net present value.
- Costs may include monitoring, leachate disposal and treatment, gas management, drainage maintenance and site security.
- The Environment Agency must agree the financial provision as part of the environmental permit application.
This is an RPSA summary of a publicly available article. The full content remains with the original publisher.
