Ventia was proudly a finalist for Best Remedial Project (Greater than $1 million) for two projects at the 2022 Australian Land and Groundwater Association (ALGA) Industry Excellence Awards.

The awards celebrate the land and groundwater industry by recognising best practice contaminated land and groundwater management in Australia and New Zealand.

Our two projects selected as finalists were the Camellia Remediation Project and Robertson Barracks Close Training Area Remediation Project. Whilst we didn't take away a win this time, we're extremely proud of these two projects and congratulate the 2022 winners.

Learn more about our the projects below. 

Camellia Remediation Project

In September 2019, Ventia commenced the Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2 Early Works - Camellia Site Remediation, having successfully delivered the Phase 1 works during 2018.

This high-profile project would see 6.2 hectares of NSW's Camellia peninsula undertake substantial remediation following its long chemical manufacturing history.

Even though remediation works had been completed previously, the site remained unsuitable for its proposed use as the stabling and maintenance yard for the Parramatta Light Rail. The yard would be used for:

• Storage of light rail vehicles
• Maintenance, repair, refurbishing, upgrading, stabling and cleaning of the light rail vehicles
• Base for infrastructure maintenance activities
• Administration and staff facilities
• Operations control centre for the light rail network

Next phase of the project

The primary requirement of the project was to satisfy the EPA's legal and regulatory obligations relating to the remediation of the site. The works were completed September 2021, and the next phase of the project - development of the Stabling and Maintenance facility commenced immediately, following demobilisation.

At the completion of works, Ventia had delivered a project that:

• Reduced the migration of contaminated groundwater offsite
• Minimised the permeation of clean stormwater into the contaminated ground
• Improved the geotechnical properties of the ground suitable for the construction and operation of a world class stabling and maintenance facility
• Minimised the offsite disposal of contaminated materials
• Mitigated the risk posed by contamination on the future users of the site.

In delivering a sustainable and environmentally conscious solution, Ventia:

• Designed a containment cell that reduced carbon emissions by 3604 tons
• Implemented on-site reuse strategies that reduced emissions by 297 tons
• Collaborated to include tunnel spoil recycling to reduce emissions by 901 tons
• Reduced overall emissions by 37%, compared to original design.

Read about Ventia's award winning Camellia Remediation Project here. 

Robertson Barracks Close Training Area Remediation Project

Historically, the new site of Defence's Robertson Barracks Close Training Area in Darwin was an illegal dumping ground prior to being acquired.

Anecdotal evidence suggests it was used in the aftermath of 1974's Cyclone Tracy. Asbestos formed a significant portion of the waste, along with construction/demolition waste, dumped vehicles and waste soils.

The site was acquired by Defence as a contaminated site in 2017. To prevent illegal access, a high-security, perimeter fence was installed in 2020. Defence proactively engaged Ventia to conduct a detailed site investigation (DSI) to ascertain what safety and environmental hazards the waste posed to Defence personnel and surrounding communities. 

A sustainable solution

What followed was a prime example of why a DSI is imperative to the success of any remediation project. It enabled smart waste assessment, cell location selection and a detailed design that delivered a true cost estimate and a viable, sustainable solution to the client.

These initiatives resulted in diverting approx. 13000m3 of asbestos waste from landfill, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the project's carbon footprint by preventing the transportation of waste offsite.

At the start of the project, 31 stockpiles of asbestos, consisting of 13,000m3 of waste were exposed at surface level. This was reduced to one containment cell with an effective barrier to prevent personnel from accessing material and erosion from Darwin's weather extremes.

In total, 21,500m3 of 44,000m3 was used in the cell. The remaining was reused around site, recycled or other reuse opportunities, with less than 500T of waste being sent to offsite landfill. This aligned with the strategy to utilise onsite resources to achieve sustainability outcomes and reuse clean fill to cap the cell in lieu of importing.

The onsite containment cell reduced pressure on Darwin's only municipal landfill and saved 3,867-man hours of work over the duration of the project.

Other achievements include:

• 241 tonnes of concrete sampled, sorted, crushed and sent for recycling or disposal
• 700T of quarried rock imported for drainage swales
• Containment and destruction of approx. 1600m3 of class A weed.
• Waste rock and concrete used on site to construct interim drainage systems during project construction
• Safety initiatives virtually eliminating the wearing of asbestos PPE in an extremely hot and humid environment.
• 14,562 manhours with 0 safety and 0 environmental incidents.

^{The Australian Land and Groundwater Association (ALGA) Industry Excellence awards celebrate the land and groundwater industry by recognising best practice contaminated land and groundwater management in Australia and New Zealand.}