Defining a remediation project and ensuring its follow-up

Define a sanitation project and ensure its follow-up

To determine whether or not to proceed with the realization of a project Sanitation of polluted soil, various elements must be taken into consideration, such as the risks induced by pollution on human health, on the preservation of local fauna and flora or on the quality of groundwater, but also the history of pollution.

As part of a project, you have been required to carry out an orientation and characterization study of pollution present in soil or groundwater. If it has indeed revealed the presence of contamination in the soil, are you required to carry out a remediation project?

” It is not systematic and involves taking into account other elements, responds Béatrice Lefebvre, Project Engineer atABV Development, certified consultancy in the management of polluted soils . It is indeed necessary to go further, by conducting a risk study which takes into account the current and future use of the site. ”

Should polluted land always be cleaned up?

If the pollution identified in the ground poses a serious threat to the environment, it will be necessary to clean up the site, potentially in order to Urgent. If the threat is not obvious, several scenarios may occur.

If we are dealing with historical pollution, in other words with soil contamination prior to April 30, 2007, and since there is no obvious risk, there is no requirement to sanitize. If we are confronted with new pollution, the administration will ask to proceed with the implementation of a project. Sanitation.

“Even if it is not systematic, more often than not, a sanitation project will be part of a development project. It will be considered taking into account the way in which the site will be developed and the risks that this induces, taking into account the level of contamination as well as the nature of the soil., explains the specialist in soil management. If the project involves excavating polluted land, the project owner will be asked to treat it. In the same way, if the pollution present involves a risk in the context of the project or the future use of land, it will also be required to carry out a sanitation project.”

Define your sanitation project?

If remediation is required, it is necessary to draw up a sanitation project, which must be submitted to the regional administration for approval.

Also read — Project to clean up soil and groundwater in the Walloon region

The principle of proportionality in the context of a sanitation project

“The details of this sanitation project, namely the technical means implemented and the associated costs, must comply with a principle of proportionality that takes into account the assessment of the environmental impacts associated, on the one hand, with the risks associated with the presence of pollution and, on the other hand, with the impacts of remediation actions and works”, explain Beatrice Lefebvre.

Opt for the best available sanitation technique

The remediation of polluted soil or groundwater can be considered in various ways. Several techniques can be implemented, including:

• The confinement of polluted land
• the excavation and treatment of polluted land
• injecting products into the soil or water to neutralize pollutants
• the pumping of polluted water and its treatment

“As part of the implementation of a sanitation project, we will use a tool to determine the best available technique, explain Béatrice Lefebvre. It will make it possible to compare the possible approaches, taking into account the nature of the pollution, the type of soil and the configuration of the terrain as well as the economic, social and environmental impacts of the solution envisaged.”

Approval of the sanitation project

In particular, the sanitation project must justify the solution chosen in light of the challenges as well as the expected results. It must be submitted to the administration for approval.

Monitoring of the sanitation project

In addition to the establishment of the project, the expert approved by the Walloon region in the field of soil management will ensure the monitoring of the project.

“As part of the project, for each of the techniques used, it is necessary to plan the measurements and analyses to be carried out in order to ensure the efficiency of operations and the achievement of sanitation objectives., explain Béatrice Lefebvre. This also applies to land movements as well as to waste and effluent management.”

The expert monitors the project, by going to the field and carrying out sample surveys and analyses, to verify the smooth running of operations and to ensure the result of the sanitation. At the end of the project, a report is drawn up and sent to the administration for control.