What Is a Remediation Plan?

In terms of property contamination litigation, a remediation plan is the strategy that needs to be executed to clean up environmental damage caused by oilfield operations or hydraulic fracturing. It is also commonly referred to as land remediation. The plan usually combines input from the landowners and oil and gas companies as well as independent industry experts and environmental scientists. The site must first be screened, then investigated, have the results compared with property standards, the site is then remediated, and then the site will be monitored for further contamination.

It must be determined first that the land is actually contaminated and how many sites total have been contaminated. It must also be shown who was at fault for the damage before a cleanup plan can be formulated. The process of determining a proper remediation plan may be lengthy and expensive, involving extensive on-site surveys and research. The mission will be to restore the property to the condition it was in before the damage occurred – if possible – and to protect against future harm caused by the contamination.

If a legal team gets involved, then they will have the responsibility of working with the company to arrive at a remediation plan that will best get the land back to its prior condition. If it is determined at any point within the identifying process that the site is not in fact contaminated, then no further action will be taken and a land remediation will not take place. It would be the lawyer's job to work tirelessly to make sure that if the said oil company was negligent and reckless, that they provide the funds needed to devise and carry out those plans.