Contaminated Sites Remediation Fund

Open for applications

Regional councils and unitary authorities can apply for funding for the remediation of contaminated sites that pose a risk to human health and the environment. This can be on behalf of landowners.

Amount funded

$2.63 million available annually

Key dates

28 March 2024
Applications for Round 1 close

About the fund

The fund supports regional councils, unitary authorities and territorial authorities fulfil their obligations for contaminated land management under the Resource Management Act 1991.

Regional councils and unitary authorities are responsible for investigating land for the purposes of identifying and monitoring contamination. Territorial authorities are responsible for preventing or mitigating any adverse effects of the development, subdivision or use of contaminated land.

Regional councils and unitary authorities submit information to the Ministry for the Environment on contaminated sites that they consider priorities for investigation or remediation. They do this on behalf of landowners that seek financial assistance from them. The sites must be eligible for CSRF funding.

Eligibility

To be eligible for funding a site must meet the following criteria.

  • A completed application form has been submitted to the Ministry from a regional council/unitary authority.
  • Activities likely to result in site contamination have been undertaken at one of the following points in time:
    • ​before the Resource Management Act (RMA) was enacted in 1991
    • after the RMA was enacted in 1991 but only if no enforcement could be undertaken by regional councils, unitary authorities or territorial authorities to investigate and/or remediate the contamination, and the activities that caused the contamination have since stopped.
  • The application for funding is for one or more of the following phases of remediation:
    • 2 - site investigation
    • 3 – remediation planning
    • 4 – site remediation.

(Funding is not available for phase one – desktop study.)

  • Funding is only requested for the years in which the site investigation, remediation planning and site remediation are undertaken.
  • Funding may only be used for agreed Project Costs that are incurred after a Deed of Funding has been entered into.

In addition, the contributions by landowners, the regional council or unitary authority, or any other party to each of the stages should reflect that party’s ability to pay and their responsibility for the site and/or contamination. If the application is approved, the Ministry will provide support to the costs for phases 2–4: site assessment, remedial planning and remediation. 

Assessment

All applications are assessed based on the risks they pose to human health and the environment using a prioritisation tool. The 10 sites that are determined as posing the greatest risks are placed on the CSRF priority list. 

The list provides transparency on which sites are prioritised for government funding. It does not necessarily show the most contaminated sites in the country as not all contaminated sites are eligible for funding.

The Ministry then uses the CSRF Priority List to make recommendations for funding to the Minister for the Environment. Funding is allocated in April and October each year. Being on the CSRF Priority List does not guarantee that a site will be funded in any particular funding round.

When sites are remediated or following further investigation are no longer considered a priority for funding they are removed from the list and replaced with new sites. The list is updated bi-annually during the April and October funding rounds.

CSRF priority list

CSRF Prioritisation Tool User Manual [DOC, 1.95 MB] - prioritisation process including how overall risk scores are calculated.

Applying

  • Read the Guide for applicants before beginning your application.
  • Complete the Application form [PDF, 658 KB]
  • Email your completed application form and supporting documentation to:
  • Or post it to:
    • Contaminated Sites Remediation Fund
      Ministry for the Environment
      PO Box 10362
      Wellington 6143

After applying

  1. The Ministry will acknowledge your application and check that it is complete and meets the eligibility criteria.
  2. If your application is approved, you will be allocated a contract manager who will prepare the funding deed for the project.
  3. The Ministry will monitor and assess each project against the stated performance measures and conditions within their funding deed. Agreed payments will be made once milestones are met and deliverables are completed.