Validation should not be designed after remediation is complete. A defensible strategy establishes the evidence required before earthworks begin, including validation areas, sampling requirements, acceptance criteria, material records and decision rules.

Excavation and disposal can provide an effective solution for contaminated soil, but removal is not automatically required whenever contamination is identified. We examine how contaminant risk, development requirements, remediation objectives, waste classification and validation influence the decision to remove soil from a site.

Contaminated land remediation does not always occur on vacant development sites. At operational facilities, remediation may need to proceed around workers, customers, plant, services and critical business activities. This article examines how remediation can be staged and controlled without unnecessarily shutting down the wider site.

Petroleum contamination rarely behaves as a simple soil problem. Where fuel has migrated into groundwater, removing impacted soil may address the source but leave a dissolved plume, residual product or vapour pathway requiring further management. This article examines how soil and groundwater remediation can be integrated into a single defensible strategy.

An exceedance of an investigation level does not automatically become the clean-up target for a contaminated site. We explain the difference between investigation criteria and remediation criteria, and how appropriate remediation endpoints are established.

A DSI does not need to eliminate every uncertainty before remediation can be planned. It does need to resolve the uncertainties that could change the remediation strategy. We examine how consultants determine when investigation has progressed far enough to prepare a defensible RAP.

Effective remediation is not designed in isolation. The proposed land use, excavation depths, buildings, earthworks and construction sequence can fundamentally change how contaminated soil should be managed.

Contaminated soil does not always need to be removed. This article explains five common soil remediation methods, including excavation, treatment, stabilisation, capping and in situ management, and how the right approach is selected for a site.

Demolition and refurbishment can expose asbestos and other hazardous materials concealed within older buildings. Learn when a pre-demolition HAZMAT survey may be required in NSW, how it relates to development approval and what the assessment should cover.

A HAZMAT report documents hazardous building materials identified during a survey and provides recommendations for management, further investigation or removal. Learn what a hazardous materials survey report includes and when one may be needed.

Excavated Natural Material (ENM) is a NSW resource recovery pathway for certain excavated natural soil and rock. Learn how ENM soil classification works, what testing is required and how the ENM Order and Exemption apply.

VENM and ENM are different NSW material classification pathways. Learn how Virgin Excavated Natural Material differs from Excavated Natural Material, when testing is required and which pathway may apply to excavated soil.

Groundwater occurs within saturated soil, sediment and rock below the land surface. Learn how groundwater and aquifers work, how contamination occurs, when groundwater monitoring is required and how contaminated groundwater is assessed.

Contaminated soil testing should be driven by the site's history, proposed use and identified contamination risks. Learn when soil assessment may be required in NSW, how testing is designed and what happens if contamination is identified.

SEPP 55 was repealed in 2022, but its contaminated land planning provisions remain in Chapter 4 of the Resilience and Hazards SEPP. Learn what this means for development applications, contamination assessments, PSIs and DSIs in NSW.

A contaminated site assessment helps identify whether land may be affected by contamination and what should happen next. Learn how contaminated land assessment progresses from preliminary investigation through detailed investigation, remediation and validation in NSW.

NSW Acid Sulfate Soil Classes 1–5 are planning classifications based on the predicted occurrence and depth of ASS. Learn how the mapping developed, why geology and elevation matter, and when each class can trigger further assessment.

Acid sulfate soil assessment may be required where excavation, earthworks or groundwater lowering could disturb mapped ASS. Learn how NSW planning controls, ASS classes, excavation depth and dewatering determine what assessment is needed.

Acid sulfate soils are naturally occurring soils containing iron sulfides that can generate sulfuric acid when disturbed. Learn why ASS can affect development, excavation and dewatering projects and how the risk is assessed and managed in NSW.

A Preliminary Site Investigation is the first stage of contaminated land assessment. Learn the purpose of a PSI, what it assesses, when it is required in NSW and how it determines whether further investigation is needed.