Last update - 01:42 25/06/2007
State delays rehab of severly polluted land, loses $1 billion tax revenue
By Tahal Frosh
The failure to rehabilitate land once used by a military factory is costing the state $1 billion in revenues. A seriously polluted 450-dunam (110-acre) plot in Herzliya's Nof Yam neighborhood used to be the site of an Israel Military Industries plant, and the Israeli Union for Environmental Defense is sponsoring legislation to get it cleaned up. The "green" advocacy organization says the state could make about $1 billion in betterment tax on the land if it were to be cleared for construction, based on the local norm of $5 million per dunam. The organization also estimates Herzliya's lost tax revenues at NIS 21 million annually. Developers could see net profits of $900 million from construction at the site.
The IMI plant was removed from there 10 years ago. In 1996, IMI conducted a partial survey of the site to determine pollution levels and to examine the feasibility of rehabilitating the land. IMI found large quantities of pollutants stemming from manufacturing processes used in the plant. In response to a petition by the Union for Environmental Defense, the Supreme Court demanded that the state complete the survey within four months.
The union's Aharon Dotan believes the high levels of pollution at the site endanger the health of area residents. He explains that winds can blow dangerous substances found in the dirt into nearby residential areas and into the sea. In addition, dangerous substances have seeped into groundwater at the site and there is a danger they will penetrate wells drilled in the area for drinking water.
The Nof Yam plot is not the only one in such a situation: Thousands of dunams in the country are estimated to be polluted, including land near gas stations. Rehabilitating a gas-station plot costs about NIS 600,000, while cleaning up the Nof Yam site may cost a few million dollars.
Polluters are not required to pay the price of rehabilitating land. The Dangerous Substances Law and the Water Law on land use prohibit polluting a water source or polluting land with dangerous materials. However, Union for Environmental Defense deputy director Amit Bracha says the problem is a lack of means of enforcement to use against polluters. He explained that the laws do not define polluters, polluted land and at what point rehabilitation must be undertaken.
According to the bill the green group is now sponsoring, any entity seeking a construction or business license would have to provide the results of a land survey indicating that the site in question is clean. Polluters will be responsible for rehabilitation. In instances where the source of the pollution cannot be identified, the landowner will be responsible for cleaning up and rehabilitating the area.