Remediation by definition is the action of remedying something, in particular of reversing or stopping environmental damage, the removal of pollution or contaminants from the environment and restoring it to its previous condition.
Environmental remediation deals with the removal of pollution or contaminants from the environment, such as soil, groundwater, sediment, or surface water. Immediate remediation of a spill or loss should be taken as this can impact poorly on human health and the environment. The ministry of the environment offers criteria that a spill could be cleaned up to. These are referred to as "Site Condition Standards". Each standard is established base on a site's location and use. Typically, most lending institutions require a site to be cleaned up to the applicable Site Condition Standard as a minimum prior to proceeding with lending. Likewise, the Environmental Protection Act recognizes that when a spill occurs it is very reasonable to clean a site up to a "pre-spill" condition. In most residential spills, a pre-spill condition may be viewed as no contamination. The difference of cleaning up a spill to the applicable site condition standards or pre-spill conditions can be costly and should be decided at the onset of a spill cleanup.