Remediation of Contaminated Sites

Various

Adam Kilsby: Contaminated Soil – Take it or Leave it
The viability of redeveloping ‘brown fields’ sites within South Australia can be significantly influenced by residual soil contamination associated with past land use. The viability is particularly relevant for residential developments on former commercial/industrial sites, where changing the land use to one more sensitive can introduce additional costs to facilitate planning consent. The economic success of developments that require remediation is largely dependent upon the management of the contamination issues, including the timeliness of obtaining soil data, the method of remediation, and the land value after remediation. This presentation discussed: the advantages of considering environmental and geotechnical issues concurrently; examples of recent residential developments in Adelaide that included remediation of soil contamination; and the pros and cons of leaving contamination on site compared with removing it.

Andrew Piggin: Halifax Street Decontamination
The Halifax Street development project, on an ex-industrial site in the heart of Adelaide, will involve a staged construction of mixed dwellings of two and three storey townhouses over part of the site and a series of three to five storeys high apartment buildings on the remainder of the site. The talk covered the history of the site, which presented some interesting challenges when subsequently deciding how to handle the soil at the site. The soil was eventually removed in an environmentally sensitive manner given the site’s close proximity to residents and schools.

Mike Fanning: Site Contamination, Assessment and Remediation, an EPA Overview
The presentation defined Site Contamination and provided an overview of the key current processes for the management of site contamination in South Australia. The presentation was aimed at environmental and geotechnical engineers/consultants to ensure that site contamination is appropriately addressed for all developments in South Australia. The processes for assessment and remediation of site contamination were covered by reference to the National Environment Protection (Assessment of Site Contamination) Measure, the current regulatory context and the proposed Site Contamination Bill.

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