Remediation Options Assessments
Before undertaking any remediation activities, it’s important to have a clear overview of your options so that you can make an informed decision. Moving soil to landfill is often the fastest way to resolve your contamination issues. But it’s expensive and unsustainable, and there are usually better methods to address the problems at hand.
The most sustainable and cost-effective way to fix your land contamination problems starts with understanding the courses of action you can take. That’s where our assessment of remediation options (ARO) service comes in. For large and complex projects, we provide this as a standalone service. In smaller undertakings, this assessment occurs as part of the remediation action plan.
When you engage HAIL Environmental for an ARO, we review the specifics of your site and recommend a handful of feasible solutions. For each remediation option, you’ll get an overview of the estimated cost, timeframe, difficulty, practicality, and any other relevant considerations. This way, you can move forward with confidence, knowing that you’ve made the right decision.
Remediation Decision Factors to Consider
Traditionally, remediation decisions were based primarily on time and cost. Whilst this is still usually the case, other factors such as sustainability, cultural impact, residual liability, and ongoing monitoring commitments are more important now than ever before. For a successful outcome, the decision you make needs to consider all stakeholder viewpoints and potential liabilities.
For example:
Getting the job done fast might be your main priority, but other project stakeholders may prioritise sustainability or cultural factors. Gaining consensus with stakeholders prior to remediation can eliminate project delays associated with disputes.
Cost might be your key consideration, but the cheapest option may result in residual liability and ongoing monitoring commitments that incur expenses for years to come.
When you work with us, we ask you what matters most in your situation, determine what matters to other stakeholders, and prepare the ARO based on these specific project priorities.
Going Beyond Dig And Dump
The most common method of remediating contaminated land in Aotearoa New Zealand involves transporting the affected soil to landfill (also known as dig and dump). It’s a fast solution that leaves no residual liability - but it’s expensive, unsustainable, and often culturally insensitive.
Unfortunately, many consultants and landowners aren’t familiar with the other approaches available, so landfill disposal is often selected as a default option.
As a result of our vast experience in NZ and overseas, we are able to use a wide range of in situ remediation techniques that are usually cheaper and more sustainable, and don’t involve transporting soil to landfill.
Some of the more common in situ remediation techniques we employ are:
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Developing a better understanding of site specific risks can often lead to eliminating or reducing remediation requirements, providing clients or future land owners with certainty that they are not at risk.
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Sometimes it’s more effective to lock away the contaminants by putting a barrier of adequate integrity between the contaminant and the people who are using the site. Barriers can also be used to direct contaminated groundwater through reactive barriers that passively treat the contaminants.
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This method of enhanced natural degradation involves using naturally occurring microbes in the soil to break down the contaminants.
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A process which utilises specific chemicals to oxidise and destroy pollutants in soil.
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This involves extracting volatile organic compounds from the ground using vacuum extraction blowers to lower the vapour pressure in the soil.
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This is where we inject oxygen or ozone into groundwater to oxidise or bio-remediate contaminants.
Making Unfeasible Projects Affordable
People often come to us when they’ve exhausted their other options and moving large quantities of soil to landfill is beyond the project budget. If you’re in this situation, you’ve come to the right place.
The soil contaminant standards in Aotearoa New Zealand were developed with layers of conservatism built in to cover a huge number of variables that may exist within the entire country.
But this often doesn’t reflect the reality on the ground at an individual site. This is where a site-specific risk assessment can be useful to determine if the risks posed on a site warrant remediation, or if it’s better to define site-specific remediation targets that limit the extent of work required - resulting in a more cost-effective and sustainable solution being implemented.
Why work with HAIL Environmental?
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Seasoned Experts
Every consultant is an experienced professional. We have over 100 years of combined experience. We know what to expect and how to overcome it.
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Industry Leading Quality
We have robust internal QA/QC processes, all investigations are designed to meet MfE requirements, and are signed off by a SQEP that is a certified contaminated land specialist under the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand (EIANZ) accreditation scheme.
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Award Winning
We’ve won a range of industry accolades for innovative sustainable remediation techniques, and we’re continually looking for better, more sustainable ways to solve client challenges.
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Ethical Kaupapa
We take our commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship seriously. Click here to learn more.
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Practical Approach
We are pragmatic and solutions focused. We are here to help enable you to achieve the desired outcome for your project, instead of simply identifying issues and barriers.
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Collective Model
We operate as a collective that prioritises client results and staff wellbeing over profits.
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Remediation Expertise
We have the expertise and capability to deliver the most suitable remediation approach to address your contaminated land issues. Where possible, we avoid dig and dump.
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Nationwide Service
No matter where in the country you are, we’re here to help. You get a dedicated consultant, with support from our wider team throughout Aotearoa.
Results Driven. Client Endorsed.
“HAIL Environmental was nominated by HEB Construction as the Suitably Qualified and Experienced Practitioner (SQEP) for Kiwirail’s Waltham Mechanical Hub Project, playing a key role in contamination investigations, producing DSIs, obtaining resource consents, and developing a good working relationship with Environment Canterbury. Their approach, which considered multiple solutions to determine the most effective way to deal with contaminated materials, has enabled the re-use of approximately 14,000t of material on-site, saving the client in excess of $2.5m - a ‘perfect example of what a collaborative approach should look like.’”
Tim Keyse, Project Manager @ HEB Construction
Our Sustainable Remediation Framework
Each service we provide fits into one of three phases. Combined, we can solve almost any contaminated land issue on your site.
Identify
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Understand the potential contamination issues preventing consent from being granted.
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Quantify the site contamination risks and estimated remediation costs before purchasing a business or property.
Classify
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Gain an in-depth understanding of your property’s contamination issues and remediation requirements.
Rectify
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Determine the best course of action to fix your contaminated land issues by comparing the options available for your site.
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Resolve your contamination issues sustainably, with the level of help that suits your needs and budget.
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Ensure that all relevant needs are addressed and people are kept in the loop with our award winning engagement services.
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Outsource your compliance monitoring responsibilities to us and free up time to focus on your core business.
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Get expert consultants at short notice to address pressing issues and help resolve your contamination emergency.
How to get started
Step 1: Get in Touch
Contact one of our consultants below and share more information about your project.
Step 2: Initial Findings
We will review your correspondence and documentation. Then, we will provide a recommended course of action, the potential outcomes that an ARO might uncover, and a proposal to engage our help.
Step 3: Engage Our Services
If you wish to proceed, we will onboard you as a client and get to work on your ARO.
