Contaminated Land
Assessment and
Remediation
Graham has managed numerous environmental projects
throughout Australia
in a range of sectors including general industrial sites, mine sites,
land development
and local, State and Commonwealth governments. He has developed excellent skills in all aspects of
project management, managing and training multi-disciplinary consultancy
teams
in both contaminated site assessments and acid sulfate soil assessments
and ensuring
that team members are appropriately equipped to meet the required
technical and
client expectations. Graham has a
strong working knowledge of all key aspects of contaminated land
assessment and
management, including due diligence assessments, staged approaches to
site
investigations, soil, groundwater and vapour sampling design and
methodology,
interpretation of chemical analytical data, quality assurance/quality
control
procedures and remediation technologies.
He has worked on
a diverse range of contaminated land projects including a foundry, a
railway
workshop, industrial laboratories, automotive workshops, mine sites,
service
stations, bulk petroleum storage facilities, fire training areas and on
multi
use land planned for redevelopment. Key specialties
have been in the area of site based remediation design and land-farm
management
with the primary aim of managing contamination in an environmentally
responsible manner to reduce unacceptable risks to human health and the
environment. Case examples include trials for the removal of
hydrocarbons and
fluoro-surfactants (PFOS and PFOA) from wastewater, the successful
removal of
chromium (VI) from groundwater and multiple applications in the
treatment of
petroleum hydrocarbons from soils and groundwater (in-situ and ex-situ).
Due Diligence
Environmental Assessments
Graham has conducted several due diligence environmental
assessments on a range of industrial facilities, which have in general
been associated
with acquisition or sale of commercial/industrial properties. The
primary focus
of these assessments was to identify processes or practices occurring on
the
site (past or present) that may have given rise to land contamination.
These
assessments involved detailed site inspections, employee interviews, and
review
of waste management practices, licensing conditions and facility and
regulatory
historical records. Where required, a series of actions were recommended
on the
basis of these assessments.
Acid Sulfate
Soils
Graham has completed a number of Acid
Sulfate Soil investigations in Queensland, Western Australia and New
South Wales, often as part of complex
contamination investigations and/or planned land development. He has
lead
projects from the site investigation stage through to the preparation
and
instigation of management plans and development approval. Assessments
have
included the identification of the nature and extent of acid sulfate
soils; and
the provision of recommendations that cater for the civil component of
proposed
developments. Each investigation has been tailored to cater for the
specific proposed
development. Graham has supervised site set-up for acid sulfate soil
treatment
programs and the installation of well networks for monitoring aquifers
on large
scale programs potentially affected by dewatering or the disturbance of
acid
sulfate soils. Where options for cost savings in the treatment and/or
management of acid sulfate soils are identified, these are communicated
with
the client to enable informed decision making.
These assessments and acid sulfate soil
and dewatering management plans were undertaken to meet development
approval
requirements and were conducted in compliance with the Department of
Natural
Resources, Environmental Protection Agency, Western Australian
Department of
Environment acid sulfate soil management series and QASSIT Guidelines.
The more recent large scale assessments
Graham has undertaken have been required for development approval and
include:
-
The assessment and
management of acid sulfate soils and groundwater contamination at a
northern
NSW service station during the removal of underground petroleum storage
infrastructure and site remedial works (2010).
-
A former Western
Australian CBD ‘Metrobus' industrial site in East Perth, pending its
redevelopment for a multi story mixed residential and commercial land
use.
Installation of a double below ground level car-park covering 1.2 ha was
proposed. The area was assessed and a dewatering management plan
prepared to cater
for the management of soil and groundwater during a staged dewatering
program. Based
on the documentation prepared and submitted to the regulator, regulatory
approval for the soil disturbance was granted and a dewatering license
was
issued (2006 - 2007).
-
Westralian
Airports Corporation - Assessment of acid sulfate soils during
decommissioning
works associated with a proposed commercial development on Commonwealth
land.
Deep excavations were considered required to decommission the site and
to
install required services (2007).
-
Australand Pty
Ltd - Assessment and preparation of a management plan for sewer and
services
installations. This project formed part of a larger urban renewal
development
project covering an area of approximately eight hectares. The site was
formerly
occupied by heavy industry (foundry and railway workshop) and during
remedial
validation works, the site was assessed for acid sulfate soils pending
the
installation of a network of civil services (2003-2006).
Hazardous
Materials Assessments
Graham has undertaken and managed several
projects in the property management sector incorporating hazardous
material
compliance inspections for general industrial sites.
