Brownfield and Contaminated Land, Belfast

• Presenting the new NIEA’s Developers’ Guide - Redeveloping Land Affected by Contamination
• An overview of the assessment of the risks to Northern Ireland of not having a contaminated land regime
• Update on the regulation of hazardous and non-hazardous substances in groundwater

Brian McVeigh

Senior Scientific Officer - Regulation Unit - Land & Groundwater Team, Northern Ireland Environment Agency

There are many challenges that can be faced when developing small brownfield sites. As well as dealing with contaminated land, technical, financial, programme and planning issues all need to be considered. This presentation will detail guidance contained within a recent CIRIA publication as to what is typically required during each stage of the development process, from pre-acquisition through to project close-out, taking into consideration the potential issues that might be faced when dealing with a small brownfield site.

Hannah Fraser

Director, Hannah Fraser Consulting Ltd

The Ireland Brownfield Network (IBN) is producing a guidance document to support an all-Ireland approach for the investigation, assessment, and management of asbestos in soils.  

The document will reference existing legislation, industry-led guidance and best practice in Northern Ireland & the Republic of Ireland to support good practice across the Island of Ireland. The aim of this document is to provide a guide explaining the legal requirements with regards to asbestos and identify appropriate mitigation measures to support the safe management and development of brownfield land.

David Kerr

Principal Environmental Consultant, WYG & Committee Member, Ireland Brownfield Network

• Identifying the barriers hindering the availability and development of brownfield land and other challenging sites, and the measures that could be taken to influence these
• Examining how brownfield and contaminated land is being managed:
• as part of Local Development Planning in Northern Ireland
• through changes to the new National Planning Framework in the Republic of Ireland
• Exploring how the process from site investigation to remediation to redevelopment could be simplified and accelerated:
• improving the availability of information on former land-use and vacant land
• improving confidence in risk-assessment and verification reports when signing-off planning consents
• detailing what other information / action is needed to facilitate this process
• Collaborating with communities and stakeholders to achieve effective brownfield remediation and development

Dermot O’Kane

Town Planner, Belfast City Council

Emma Walker

Associate Director, Turley

• Understanding the potential risks from different gas sources
• Guidance on monitoring and current best practice
• Data science methods for landfill gas analysis
• Using the data science analysis in risk assessment

Steve Wilson

Technical Director, The Environmental Protection Group Ltd (EPG)

Maryam Hussain

Head of Data Analytics, Ambisense

This presentation will demonstrate the effectiveness of a number of research & development projects, funded by NIEA / DAERA and CASE which are using sustainable treatment technologies to manage contamination from landfill leachate and wastewater in Northern Ireland.

Chris Johnston

Project Leader, Environment and Renewable Energy, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI)

• The Remediation Strategy
• End-Use Selection
• Look-ahead

Kerdiffstown Landfill is a former sand and gravel quarry which had been progressively backfilled with wastes by a variety of operators since the 1950s.

The facility at Kerdiffstown was operated under a local authority waste permit followed by a waste licence, issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2003; with a revised licence issued in 2006. The site consisted of an extensive recycling facility, a lined landfill cell, which had been partially filled with waste, and large unlined areas of the site in which substantial quantities of waste have been deposited. There are also smaller quantities of waste stockpiled around the site. The presence of such large quantities of waste and the lack of appropriate infrastructure to manage pollution arising from this waste, results in the potential for environmental pollution to occur.

In June 2010, the former operator of the landfill vacated the site and it was left in an unsecured condition. In January 2011, a major fire developed within the mass of mounded waste material present in the north of the site which required the intervention of a number of state agencies, including Kildare County Council (KCC) and the EPA.

The facility at Kerdiffstown is now in the early stages of remediation. In February 2011, the EPA took control of the site until it was transferred to KCC in June 2015. Since February 2011 the EPA and KCC have been using the powers under Section 56 of the Waste Management Act 1996 (as amended) to manage the site and put in place measures to prevent and limit pollution such as the presence of site representatives on site to oversee the management of existing landfill infrastructure, and implement interim landfill control measures for emissions including odour, dust, surface water, groundwater and landfill gas. Leachate is also managed and monitored on site.

The Kerdiffstown Landfill site is currently closed, in a disused state and poses a long-term risk to the environment due to pollution by landfill gas, odour and leachate. Therefore, there is a need to remediate the site.  Based on a series of objectives set out by KCC, a remediation strategy and end-use proposals were developed by Jacobs such that, once remediation is complete, this site will be a multi-use public park including playing pitches, changing rooms, a playground, walking paths, and vehicle and bicycle parking for the use of the local and wider community. Landfill management infrastructure will continue to protect the environment, resulting in environmental benefits both on and off site.

Colin Dunsmuir

Senior Consultant, Jacobs

Northern Ireland: Waste Management Authorisations, Verification & Reporting when Redeveloping Sites

• Clarifying waste authorisation requirements for brownfield developments and the Regulator’s view on:
• the movement and use of soils between sites
• what can be re-used where
• effective tracking of waste and duty of care
• Examining Duty of Care and Registration of Carriers
• Waste sampling, definition and classification procedures
• Waste management, verification & reporting

Republic of Ireland: Implementing Article 27

• Understanding the appropriate classification of materials – when is a waste not a waste?
• Examining the implications of Article 27 of the European Communities (Waste Directive) Regulations 2011 and its effective application

Brian McVeigh

Senior Scientific Officer - Regulation Unit - Land & Groundwater Team, Northern Ireland Environment Agency

Malcolm Dowling

Principal Environmental Consultant, Verde Environmental Consultants

This session will include regional case studies of innovative remediation technologies and regeneration projects.

Fort George is a strategic regeneration site located on the west bank of Derry / Londonderry.  The 6.2acre site has an extensive history – formerly a naval base during World War 2, the site became an Army Base during the 1970s until being decommissioned in 2000. WYG commenced assessment of contamination liabilities at the site in 2012 with the North West Science Park (now Catalyst) being the first phase of development (successfully completed in September 2014) and subsequent full site planning permission for the remainder of the site being granted in 2015.  WYG have undertaken the land contamination risk assessment, remedial strategy, procurement and remediation management for this complex site. The main site remediation has now been successfully completed and expressions of interest for the future of the site are being considered.

Stuart Martin

Associate, WYG

• A brief introduction to soil mixing and the benefits of soil mixing solutions
• Examining the importance of laboratory testing and site trials
• New applications for soil mixing, including a pipeline stabilisation project in Downpatrick, a stabilisation project for a culvert in Dromore, how soil mixing has helped in the remediation of sites containing peat, and the stabilisation of an asbestos-contaminated hillside

 As well as the above projects, the presentation will discuss some exciting new developments in soil mixing equipment that have been brought to the UK and Ireland for the first time, and more importantly, how they can help engineers, contractors and developers in complex land remediation projects.

Colin Critchlow

Director, Deep Soil Mixing Ltd

Danny Glynn

Director, ByrneLooby