2024 EVENT PROGRAMME
9.00 Registration and Coffee
9.30 Welcome from Environment Analyst
9.35 Opening Remarks from the Morning Chair
9.40 Update on The Scottish Government Contaminated Land Policy Work
Scottish Government’s policy work aims to support the land contamination community in cleaning up legacy pollution. The purpose being to protect human health and the environment, and facilitate the reuse and regeneration of brownfield sites.
Alongside the statutory Part IIA regime, this work extends across a number of government directorates including those dealing with planning, building standards and waste management policy.
This presentation will provide an update on the work of the recently appointed Contaminated Land Policy Advisor, the reconvened Contaminated Land Advisory Group (CLAG) and the priorities identified by this group to improve the broader policy framework moving forward.
Madeleine Berg, Senior Policy Adviser, Contaminated Land, Scottish Government
10.10 Best Practice for Regulation of Mine Gas Risks to Development by Local Authorities: Findings of a Scottish Government Research Project
This presentation will describe the findings of a research project undertaken by RSK Geosciences on behalf of the Scottish Government in 2021 and due to be published shortly.
This was a follow-up project to previous research looking at the implications of the Gorebridge incident for the assessment and mitigation of risks from mine gas for development in Scotland. The focus was on collating and reviewing current practice through consultation with relevant staff in the 23 local authorities affected.
The resulting good practice process developed will be presented, including agreed roles and responsibilities, screening of applications, effective information sharing, and the use of independent technical peer reviews.
Dr. Tom Henman, Director, RSK Geosciences and SiLC
10.40 Morning Refreshments & Networking
11:10 Case Study: The Leven Programme – Regeneration in Partnership
The Leven Programme is a partnership between the public, private and third sector focussed on the regeneration of the River Leven and its catchment in mid-Fife. This multi-partner presentation will delve into work the partnership has carried out in Levenmouth in recent years, future plans and how this will contribute towards transformative change in the region.The presentations will be followed by panel Q&A.
The Leven Programme – An Introduction to How the Partnership Came to Be through a Shared Vision
Hannah Swanson, Senior Business Consultant, SEPA
River Leven Concept Masterplan – An Overview of the Development of a Visionary Concept Masterplan for Levenmouth
Paul Morsley, Urban Designer, Iglu Studio
Context for Timberyard Site – Consideration of Riverside Contamination using a Local Site as an Example and how the Vacant and Derelict Land Fund can Enable Investigation
Donald Payne, Technical Officer, Fife Council
Site Investigation Design – A Best Practice Approach to Site Investigation Design, including the Use of Geophysics and Ecological Considerations
Helen McMillan, Associate Director, RSK
The River Park Project – A summary of Interventions until 2027, Aiming to Practically Implement the Wider Vision for Levenmouth’s River Park
Kate Fuller, Senior Programme Manager, Green Action Trust
Current Proposals around Timberyard Site – Zooming in to Timberyard Site and How this Landscape will Change over Time
Paul Morsley, Urban Designer, Iglu Studio
What this Means for Levenmouth – How the Work Included in this Presentation Fits into a Bigger Jigsaw, Collectively Striving to Transform Levenmouth
Hannah Swanson, Senior Business Consultant, SEPA
12.10 Remediation and Sustainable Growth Tool - Development of Natural Capital Metrics for Land Remediation
This presentation will detail current research conducted by the British Geological Survey with Jacobs for the Environment Agency on the development of a novel natural capital approach to evaluate the sustainability benefits from remediating and redeveloping contaminated brownfield sites.
This proof-of-concept co-designed research is helping the Agency develop new methods to measure and communicate the social, economic and environmental value of remediating contaminated sites which in turn will enable it to optimise the planning, funding and delivery of its land contamination functions.
Dr. Darren Beriro, Principal Geoscientist,
British Geological Survey
12.40 Networking Lunch
13:30 Welcome Back from the Afternoon Chair
Neil Brown, Associate Technical Director, RSK Geosciences
13.35 Interactive Roundtable Session
These focused, interactive, break-out sessions give you the opportunity to discuss a key topic of interest to you in a more participative format. Each small group will be led by a facilitator who will lead the discussion and encourage maximum debate and sharing of ideas.
A. Developing Partnerships and Collaborative Working to Add Value and Maximise Outcomes
Hannah Swanson, Senior Business Consultant, SEPA
B. Better Aligning Brownfield Remediation & Development with Climate & Sustainability Goals
Iain McLellan, Associate Dean & Programme Leader Waste & Resource Management, University of the West of Scotland
C. Improving Confidence in Hydrogeological Site Characterisation
Characterising the hydrogeological regime at brownfield sites effectively requires both expertise and experience. Developing a robust conceptual site model whilst working within constraints relating to timescales, costs, access, etc can be challenging. You need to be able to justify your approach and assumptions to give stakeholders confidence in your findings and in any subsequent assessment of risks to the water environment.
This round table discussion will explore some of the issues we face when planning site characterisation works. How much data is ‘enough’? What scale is appropriate? How much uncertainty can be tolerated? How best to manage unexpected findings? Can innovative approaches offer benefits? Sharing experiences and ideas on this topic will help improve how we characterise the hydrogeology at our sites.
Isla Smail, Principal Hydrogeologist, Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)
D. Effectively Managing and Analysing the Plethora of Data Available on a Site and Knowing How Best to Use it to Make Decisions
The data question - data management, data quality, big data, data governance, data ethics are all questions the environment sector needs to address. Making sure you have the right information in the right format to enable good assessment and communication is key to everything we do. Come to this RT and discuss with others your challenges and how you are addressing them.
Stuart Telfer, Operations Director, Groundsure
E. Re-using Vacant and Derelict Land
In late 2020, following 2 years of intense work, the Vacant and Derelict Land Task force published a series of recommendations to enable re-use of vacant land and end the legacy of harm from deindustrialisation. The Scottish Land Commission is now undertaking a review of progress three years on from the publication of the recommendations.
Following a brief introduction on the scope and purpose of the review, the round table will enable participants to discuss what opportunities there are to support land re-use, what barriers exist and ideas to support increased land re-use based on their practical experience.
F. Improving Community & Stakeholder Engagement & Risk Communication
Roslyn McIntosh, Contaminated Land Officer, Inverclyde Council
G. Improving Biodiversity on Brownfield Sites to Meet Planning & Sustainability Objectives
Recent Scottish Government Guidance sets out ambitious targets that will halt biodiversity loss by 2030 and reverse it through large-scale restoration by 2045, and outlines expectations for delivering improved biodiversity as part of planning and development. Many brownfield sites support high levels of biodiversity which can easily be lost through development. However, if vacant and derelict land on brownfield sites are properly assessed and planned, they can instead promote biodiversity through carefully planned development which is environmentally sustainable and enables more natural habitats, native plant species, and a ‘less tidy’ approach to land management.
This roundtable will discuss incorporating biodiversity into brownfield site investigation and development and enable participants to share experiences on how brownfield sites with high biodiversity value can not only deliver suitable habitats for many species of plants and living creatures, but also provide valuable open spaces for local people, contributing to the delivery of urban green networks and improved community health & well-being.
Suzanne Burgess, Development Manager, Buglife
14.30 Best Practice in On-Site Data Collection, Analysis and Management to Ensure Robust, Accurate & Measurable Data that can Inform Effective Risk Assessment & Decision-Making
This session will discuss the importance of, and best practice for, the collection and management of environmental monitoring data and the use of advanced environmental forensics for assessing and mitigating environmental impact from contaminants.
Audience participation through questions to the speakers and comments from their own experiences is encouraged.
Effective Planning & Data Collection Strategies to Ensure a Thorough Understanding of Risk Scenarios
As an environmental project expands, environmental practitioners can rapidly become swamped in the data they need to make effective decisions.
Careful planning before the project begins is essential to ensure that risk scenarios are understood, proper data is collected from appropriate media, analytical methods will produce actionable data, and that sample collection requirements are clearly communicated to those collecting the data.
Craig Cox, President and Principal Scientist, Cox-Colvin & Associates
Advancing On-Site Environmental Forensics for Immediate Environmental Impact Assessment
This presentation will explore the integration of cutting-edge science for rapid oil spill response and delve into the crucial role of on-site laboratories in responding to these. Highlighting their significance in rapid and accurate environmental forensics, it will explore how these innovative techniques and technologies contribute to timely decision-making and environmental impact mitigation.
Dr Ken Scally, Technical and Quality Director, Normec DETS
15.05 Afternoon Refreshments & Networking
15.30 Scottish Case Study: The Implementation of a Combined Electric Resistive Heating (ERH) and Multi Phase Extraction (MPE) Remedy at a Fractured Bedrock Site
This remediation case study details a first-to-field application of ERH in Scotland in a complex fractured bedrock environment, which includes two differing hydrostratigraphic units within the treatment target zone. The presentation will firstly focus upon assessing the key challenges of deploying the thermal technology, and secondly present evidence illustrating how the MPE system provided effective hydraulic control to limit impacts to surface water receptors and additional vapour capture to protect neighbouring residents. Results and discussion will focus on how tiered lines of evidence for remediation performance, along with soil, groundwater and vapour data/results, have been used to demonstrate remediation verification and validation.
The presentation will also describe the development of an effective communication strategy, which was required to manage initial concerns from the regulator and local residents, and how this developed into a collaborative undertaking by all stakeholders. Finally, the presentation will discuss how the use of clean green non-fossil fuel energy affected the sustainability metrics of remediation project overall.
Andrew Morgan, Senior Remediation Consultant, Geosyntec Consultants
16.00 Roundtable Feedback
Each break-out session facilitator will briefly share the key learning points from their earlier RT discussions with the audience.
16.30 Closing Remarks from the Chair and Close of Conference followed by a Complimentary Networking Drinks Reception
