Research

Overview

Although Israeli law does not technically allow for the contamination of land, present legislative proscriptions are limited in this area. Existing statutes do not cover the full scope of possible and soil contamination. The Water Law, The Hazardous Substances Law, the Planning and Building Law all contain relevant provisions, but ultimately fall far short of a comprehensive policy for addressing what has emerged as a major hazard in Israel. Even though the magnitude of soil pollution in Israel not been systematically documented, it can be deduced from a variety of variables that there may be several hundreds of thousands of contaminated sites. Remediation is necessary in order to prevent continued deterioration and to avoid exposures. But the legal framework for such an initiative is lacking.

This research made a thorough review of existing legal instruments in Israel and compared them with different approaches to land remediation and restoration abroad, in particular the U.S. and Europe. Israel's situation is unique insofar as the state is the major landowner, while at the same time it is responsible for many polluted sites. The Israel Lands Authority has not used its authorities to facilitate a comprehensive land clean up policy. The Ministry of Environment is making several attempts to tackle the problem, but lacks authority and resources necessary for the massive task, especially due to the lack of enthusiasm by financial institutions for large-scale remediation.

The report recommends an integrated national policy, with a single lead agency overseeing the matter, clear funding for remediation and greater specificity with regaater specificity with regard to the legal specifications, such as the extent of actual land restoration. It recommends a synthesized approach to the complex issue of retroactive liability. The Lands Administration is called on to take greater responsibility for solving the problem. Greater public involvement is recommended as a safeguard against some of the present concerns. The research, originally prepared as a Masters Degree thesis, is being published by the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies.

Products:

Orr Karassin, Restoration of Contaminated Lands in Israel, Masters Thesis, Tel Aviv University, July, 2002.
Orr Karassin, Restoration of Contaminated Lands in Israel, at press.