Journal of Environmental Research

A comparison of approaches used to manage excess soil from brownfield sites – Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States

4^th Edition of International Conference on Environmental Science & Technology
March 29-31, 2018 Vienna, Austria

Kenneth M. Haberman

Landmark Environmental, LLC, USA

ScientificTracks Abstracts: J Environ Res

Abstract

The redevelopment of commercial and industrial properties, which are commonly referred to as brownfields, frequently involves soil excavation for environmental or constructionrelated purposes. In many cases, the soil or fill material that needs to be excavated cannot be reused on the same property becomes excess soil that must be transported off-site. The excess soil may need to be transported off-site if it is determined to be hazardous or if it is determined to be unsuitable for geotechnical purposes or because there is no room for the soil to be reused on site in the context of the new redevelopment. Regardless, even when the excess soil is not contaminated, a significant amount of excess soil is transported off-site and disposed in landfills, which results in increased costs to the redevelopment project. There is a growing awareness that offsite disposal of excess soil in landfills, including marginally contaminated soil, is not sustainable and that excess soil should be viewed as a commodity or a product and not a waste. Government agencies in multiple countries have expressed concerns about implementing new environmental guidelines and regulations pertaining to the reuse of excess soil could undermine long-standing environmental policies and practices that were intended to protect human health and the environment. In recent years, there is a growing interest by both government agencies and private-sector organizations in a number of countries to find new ways to promote the beneficial reuse of excess soil in a manner that can also protect human health and the environment. This presentation/paper is intended to compare policies and procedures that apply to the beneficial reuse of excess soil in three countries � Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Biography

Kenneth M. Haberman has over 35 years of experience specializing in the areas of environmental investigation and remediation and regulatory policy development.  Ken served as the President of Landmark Environmental, LLC from 2000 to 2015.  Ken is currently an Executive Vice-President.  Ken is a former Board Chair of Minnesota Brownfields, a non-profit organization that promotes current brownfields initiatives. Prior to the establishment of Landmark, Ken was a Vice-President at Barr Engineering Company.  Ken also worked for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for nearly 16 years, primarily as a manager in the Voluntary Investigation and Cleanup Program and the Superfund Program. Ken has a Master’s Degree in Environmental Studies from Bemidji State University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology and Earth Science from the University of Minnesota.  Ken participated in the Fellowship Program at the University of Minnesota, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs in 1999 and 2000.
Email:khaberman@landmarkenv.com