In a Government Regulation of 8 October 2015 ("Regulation of 8 October 2015"), the Brussels Capital Region has defined the intervention and decontamination standards for the urban enterprise zones ("zones d'entreprises en milieu urbain" or "ZEMU").
The concept of ZEMU was introduced in the Brussels Capital Region in 2013, with the amendment of the Regional Land Use Plan ("PRAS") by the "PRAS démographique". The objective of the 2013 modification was to address the challenges posed by the demographic growth of the Brussels Capital Region and the increased demand for housing. The major new feature of the "PRAS démographique" is the introduction of the ZEMU. This concerns productive activities and integrated services for enterprises, i.e. "business to business" services, but also housing, commerce, wholesale business, infrastructure of general interest and public services. Thus, the ZEMU is a zone where enterprises and housing can coexist.
The 2013 modification of the PRAS required changes to the intervention and soil decontamination standards, in order to introduce the new ZEMU.
Soil protection is regulated by the Ordinance of 5 March 2009 relating to the management and decontamination of polluted soil. This Ordinance defines two types of fixed standards: intervention standards and decontamination standards, both of which need to be fixed by the government. The Brussels government thus determined a standard for each pollutant which may not be exceeded. The intervention standards are concentrations of pollutants for the soil and subsoil water, determined per sensitivity category, above which the risks to human health and/or the environment are no longer considered negligible, and treatment of the pollution is required. Exceeding these standards requires treatment of the pollution. The decontamination standards concern concentrations of pollutants in the soil and subsoil water below which risks to human health and the environment are deemed non-existent, and which allow the soil to be used for all purposes. The decontamination standards are in fact those standards which must be attained when a soil decontamination procedure is carried out.
The intervention standards are determined according to sensitivity categories, which depend on the classification of the site by the PRAS. This is not the case for decontamination standards. Consequently, the regulation of the Brussels Capital Region government of 17 December 2009 determining the intervention and decontamination standards (the "Regulation of 17 December 2009") defines three sensitivity categories and zones:
- The specific zone, i.e. the following zones of the PRAS: green zones, green zones with high biological value, park zones, cemetery zones, forest zones, zones for servitudes along the border of forests, agricultural zones, as well as zones for the protection of subsoil water capture;
- Housing zones, i.e. the following zones of the PRAS: housing zones of a residential nature, housing zones, mixed zones, administrative zones, zones for infrastructure of general interest or public services, zones for sports or outdoors leisure activities; and
- Industrial zones, i.e. the following zones of the PRAS: urban industry zones, zones for port activities and transport, rail road zones.
The standards for the specific zone are more severe than those for the housing zone. The standards for the industry zone are the least severe.
The Regulation of 8 October 2015 allocates ZEMUs to a sensitivity category in accordance with their actual state. This state must be determined by a soil contamination expert. If the land concerned is not used, the housing zone standard is applicable. In the case of housing activity on a cadastral plot within the ZEMU, the housing zone standard is also applicable.
In addition, the regulation of 8 October 2015 entails several other modifications. The rules on the ZEMU are also applicable to the highly mixed zones. The Regulation of 17 December 2009 allocated the zones of regional interest ("ZIR") and the zones of regional interest with delayed development ("ZIRAD") to the sensitivity category according to their designated use, or by default to the housing zone. From now on, the actual state of the zone will be determined by a soil pollution expert.
Otherwise, the Regulation of 8 October 2015 simply re-enacts the content of the Regulation of 17 December 2009, which it abrogates. The intervention and decontamination standards remain unchanged.
The Regulation of 8 October 2015 entered into force ten days following its publication in the Official Gazette, i.e. on 19 February 2016.