DATE: 3rd JUNE 2014
MINUTES : Jonathan Driver
Item / Information / Action1 / Apologies & Attendance:
Attendance: Simon Downs (East Hants), Laura Grimwood (Basingstoke), Kevin Beer (Basingstoke), Nicola Franklin (Portsmouth), Paul Slaughter (Test Valley), Alison Harker (Winchester), Jonathan Driver (Havant), Tracy Collins (New Forest), Neil Hince (Hart), Paula Awty (Env. Agency), Alex (Gosport & rep. Fareham), Mark Wooton (Isle of Wight)
Apologies: Wendy Harrison (Fareham), Richard Ward (Rushmoor), Neil Scott (Eastleigh)
2 / Presentation – Gareth Leonard, Regenesis: Remediation Techniques:
· Gareth outlined the focus of the training – usually the material is covered on a day-training basis; so all the material cannot be covered in the available time. Session to focus on the application in-situ techniques, and how remedial techniques should be used together.
· About Regenesis: Oxygen Release Compound (ORC) Specialists, but currently manufacture & supply 14 products to treat a range of contaminants.
· Company is based on the pharmacological business model (R&D > Sales & Tech advice/support to CL Consultants), but also offers technical field team to oversee product use. Work is primarily with hydrocarbon spills from PFS / Domestic kerosene tanks.
· Techniques: For gross contamination, physical removal always recommended – pump & treat (P&T) benefits from high early efficiency.
· For Intermediate / residual contamination, chem. oxidation / chemical desorption useful to break down film & reduce barriers to recovery by means of P&T. Techniques reliant on contact, so efficiency reduces at lower concentrations.
· To meet stringent targets, ORC, biological treatments and redox manipulation are recommended.
· Remediation plan should aim to use the most cost effective solutions at the right stages / locations, broadly following the technique hierarchy physical removal > chem. treatment (oxidation/desorption) > biological treatment / enhancement– in sequence for cost effective concentration reduction.
· Enhanced Desorption: Petrocleanse used for augmented P&T. Non-organic silicate surfactant increases PH to reduce bond strength, and chemically oxidises to increase (organic) contaminant solubility. Enhances desorption & increases recovery efficiency using P&T plant.
· Can’t use Petrocleanse in isolation, will simply increase mobility. Care needed at periphery of site or near sensitive water receptor.
· Inorganic surfactants used to avoid an increase in the amount of organic material to be targeted by biological treatment. Biological techniques should follow enhanced P&T
· Direct injection techniques can target smear zone. Effects last 2-3wks, over 3-4m radius of influence from injection site (gravels). Careful application required where geology is characterised by fracture-flow. Residual products following treatment are silicates, carbon & O2.
· Injection technique is important for efficient use – groundwater pressurisation can affect application volumes, and care is needed to avoid excessive ‘daylighting’ (surface leakage) at sensitive sites.
· Chemical oxidation: an aggressive treatment to chemically ‘burn’ organic contaminants. Use in plume centre.
· Regenesis Chemical oxidation products employ a catalyst to enhance contaminant destruction through ‘surface mediated’ oxidation – yields equivalent reaction volume while avoiding adverse thermal & pressure effects.
· RegenOx is safer, can be used under existing residential buildings. PersulfOx can be used with chlorinated solvents, but has H2SO4 residual – can’t use near trees.
· Rebound is expected – caused by desorption of residual soil contamination. Multiple applications likely to be needed – contaminant mass reduced at each application.
· Oxygen Release: Used for dissolved phase organics, where low SSTL’s (<10 mg/l) are specified. Can be employed protectively to create an aerobic zone between source & receptor, but needs good understanding of flow rates for effective use.
· Regenesis ORC chemically treated for slow O2 release, complete & predictable O2 liberation and more accurate yield calculations. Effective for 9-12 months.
· Capable of achieving 10x – 100x increase in degradation rates (e.g. Benzene ½ life, anaerobic = 2yrs, aerobic = 10 days). Degradation rates are seasonally variable, influenced by temperature.
· Works best in saturated zone, but use as an extended-life ‘prophylactic’ in unsaturated zone is effective in some cases.
Gareth will make slides available to the group, and is happy to be contacted with regards specific queries, information, or case study material. The group thanked Gareth for his time, and the possibility of a future session on Chlorinated Solvents was discussed – Gareth / Regenesis happy to run the session to ensure that techniques & products are being correctly specified & successfully used. CPD certificate for the session will follow.
3 / Minutes from last meeting:
Minutes accepted
4 / EA/LA updates:
EHDC: has a gasworks site investigated through planning, with contamination known to be present. Development ‘stalled’ – some discussion followed regarding whether it was appropriate to pursue part 2A if not progressed via planning system. Busy with planning work in Bordon.
Basingstoke: Has updated strategy – tried to use template produced by sub-group, but lots of detail ‘red-penned’ in favour of an ‘overview’ approach. Lots of permitted development consultations via the prior notification scheme. Some discussion regarding new legislation relating to permitted developments where insufficient Con. Land information is provided. Laura’s role diversifying, now responsible for private water supplies.
Winchester: Alison’s role not 100% CL anymore. Hours reduced. Has updated strategy based upon sub-group template, document is awaiting publication. Strategy details prioritisation methodology – will be based upon Rushmoor methodology, being developed by Southampton University using value of reduced hours to fund. Discussed multiple tank oil spill in Southern Scotney, which was caused by flooding, and relates to multiple landowners – identifying liable parties proving difficult.
Hart: Neither Neil or James are full time CL. Revision of strategy document is on the to-do list. Busy with planning, little progression of strategic work at the moment due to available resources.
Portsmouth: Strategy still out of date – on to-do list. MapEagle now up-and-running, but backlog of data capture work. Still no team leader appointed, was advertised & received applications, but no interviewees shortlisted. Advertisement may not accurately reflect target person. Sarah still being used extensively. Tipner / Northern Quarter ongoing, availability of senior staff possibly contributing to delays. Other planning very busy. Management of a school site / asbestos issue (communications issues & poor reports) taking a lot of time.
Isle of Wight: Using WPA to review phase 1 & 2 reports for planning. One Part 2A investigation (gassing landfill) ongoing, but difficulty determining due to data quality issues. Council needs to reduce costs, ~350 redundancies planned & likely that CL budget for consultants will be cut. Strategy on to-do list, no anticipation of internal funding. Issues with property blight (properties on gas works).
Test Valley: CL just one of 4 work areas covered. Strategic CL work on ‘to do’ list, but busy with domestic fuel spills and sporadic env. info. enquiries.
New Forest: Ealing Wharf is now being progressed through planning system, so no need to determine. Still using WPA for consulting work. Working to narrow priority list from ~125, to <15 high-priority sites. Undertaking site walk-overs.
Gosport: New to CL role. In partnership with Fareham BC, Wendy providing expert CL advice. Issue with a fuel depot site & vapour ingress in residential properties – affected by groundwater levels. Strategy currently being re-drafted.
Havant: Management has taken on board the message from the CL expert panel that there is a risk to the Council in not progressing strategic CL work – no longer acceptable to rely upon sites being put forward through the planning system for site investigations. Strategy to be re-drafted as first step. Issues with off-site migration of liquor from former gas works, being managed voluntarily as part of development. Historic petrol / kero tanks in SPZ1.
Environment Agency: EA going through re-structure, moving from 3-tier to 2-tier structure. No guidance update. HCC are running an oil & gas seminar on Thursday – Pollution staff not invited to attend. Some discussion amongst the group regarding oil & gas exploration licenses & fracking issues, Consultation responses on standard rules permits for oil & gas exploration still being reviewed.
5 / ECAC feedback: Discussion about recent emails on means of communication between CLLG & ECAC – NH reported ECAC happy to receive minutes. NH & NS to discuss and agree update/communication protocol by next meeting / NH & NS
6 / Sub Groups:
i) Asbestos Guidance - CIRIA Asbestos in soil & made ground: A guide to understanding and managing risks” (C733) now available – summary ‘ready reference’ (SP168) version available on website for free. Kevin Beer & Tracy Collins volunteered for sub-group – tasked with producing a C733 review/précis document for the group that summarises salient points. Simon Downs to forward C733 to Kevin to facilitate.
ii) Supplementary Development Control Guidance: No update. Some discussion about inclusion of pollution/contamination policy in forward plans – round table on plan status. Jon Driver to forward Havant’s CL policy wording to Laura by next meeting.
iii) Building Control: BC officers considered the framework document to be ‘adopted’, but were making little practical use of it. Some changes incorporated within Controlled Doc. C, but minimal impact on framework document. BC officers want more practical output – site inspection checklists & briefing notes / guidance on what to look out for on site. WCC already making good use of such documents – it was agreed that this is a good basis to develop further. Round-table discussion on working relationship & practice between EH & BC departments – wide variation, largely ad hoc, but effective – WCC uses consultation layer and BC dept. will readily apply conditions. Basingstoke / East Hants primarily work with BC Re: gas membranes. Still considered relevant - sub-group to meet before next meeting to discuss way forward.
iv) Imported Materials: Wendy H not present – no update. / KB/TC & SD
JD
JD/AH/NS
7 / Training:
a. Received:
i) HHRA Advanced Course & ii) SoBRA/SAGTA Seminar on C4SL’s:
Simon Downs to type up & circulate notes (or submit for publication on CLLG web site) from C4SL’s Seminar and HH Generic Risk assessment before next meeting
b. Planned:
i) Asbestos: there was some confusion as to whether Hazel Davidson was booked for talk on VOC behaviour or Asbestos at the September meeting. Simon Downs to confirm.
ii) Natural background Concentrations: Mark Cave Booked for December meeting
iii) Environmental Damage Regulations: Neil Scott is liaising with provider – JD to follow up with NS to confirm.
iv) Gas Membrane Installations & Verification: GGS running training sessions again – most of the group attended in 2012/13. Recommended to those who couldn’t attend previous sessions. Under consideration, not resolved. / SD
SD
JD
8 / C4SL’s:
Round-Table discussion on the use of C4SL’s in reports for planning, and whether LA’s would be happy to accept them. Portsmouth & Isle of Wight had received reports citing C4SL’s, IoW asked for justification for consultant not using lead C4SL. Standards not being widely used in planning at the moment – all agreed that there was no impediment to accepting these standards.
9 / CLLG Library: There was some discussion on which documents the group would like to include in the library – the group is mindful of the likelihood of significant overlap if each group member provided a comprehensive list of documents, and also of the storage capacity allocated to the web site, hosted by Southampton. Paula indicated that the EA will be adding documents to the EA library on the .gov website. If a document cannot be found, Paula is happy to accept requests for specific EA publications, and should be able to provide publications from the internal archives. It was agreed that the focus should be on the difficult to find documents, & chargeable publications. Simon Downs to circulate email requesting initial requests for documents. / SD
10 / Group Attendance: Simon asked the group for ideas on how to encourage regular attendance & representation from all Hampshire Authorities. It was agreed that training / seminar sessions & CPD were an effective incentive. It was also agreed that the meeting should be condensed – difficult for some to commit a half-day + travel when resources / time is limited. Consensus was that the ‘round robin’ was useful, but should be brief and focus on strategic work and difficult sites. Alison H. suggested swapping the LA update standing agenda item to a ‘case conference’ advice session / discussion forum / Q&A. It was agreed to trial this as a standing agenda item.
11 / A.O.B.:
Discussion on the provision of pre-application advice. Most authorities treat pre-app as an ‘application’ (i.e., is validated / checked against consultation / issues layers, formal consultation process). EA now charging for all pre-app advice. Hart EH is charging for pre-app advice in theory, but only for detailed advice. Most dealt with as outline advice only, charging via the planning service (no inter-departmental re-charging). Gosport has issued an ‘EH consultation’ layer for use alongside standard planning ‘constraints’ in application validation checks.
Some members indicated that they did not have a copy of the latest developers guide – no branded version available, but Simon D will re-circulate the text copy. Jon D to arrange for new developers guide to be added to the CLLG web site. / SD/JD
12 / Next Meetings:
i) Wednesday 3rd September – Basingstoke 10:00am -14:00pm (room booked). Meeting 10:00am-12:00pm, followed by talk from Hazel Davidson after 45 min lunch break.
ii) Tuesday 9th December – Hart – Talk from Dr. Mark Cave on Normal Background Concentrations
Speaker Contact Details:
Gareth Leonard BSc Hons, MSc, MSEE, CEnv Managing Director Regenesis (Europe)
Tel: 01833 630 411
Mobile: 07966 010 386
Email:
Web: www.regenesis.co.uk