■ Environment
■ Environment
According to Dahan , sustainable techniques are not without risks . “ There are pitfalls with in-situ methods . Your results may not equal 100 percent or 70 percent or whatever your required goal percentage might be . If you excavate , you know the site is clean ,” he says .
Phil Brilliant agrees .
“ Some of the green technologies may not be as effective as the traditional remediation technologies . And in some cases , contaminants are in higher amounts and in complex environments . Sometimes , the old way is probably the better way although it may not be a green method ,” Brilliant explains .
LSRPs and engineering firms must consider all the risks . “ We always have to balance our choices based on the client ’ s needs ,” Phil notes , adding that “ if you ' re proposing something that may not be as effective and as costly versus a traditional remediation method that may get the job done quicker , it is difficult to promote the green way of doing it . We are professionals , however , we are also salesmen . Yes , we definitely try to look at the best approaches , including sustainable options , but we still need to consider the client ’ s end goals ,” Brilliant explains .
“ There is always a risk / benefit analysis that an owner needs to do ,” adds Agnes Antonian , Partner and Chair of the Environmental Law Group at Connell Foley LLP . “ As an attorney , our role is to advise based on what the owner
wants to do to make sure that they are within the regulatory confines ,” she says , adding that even so , the regulations can be read in different ways .
“ In this context , it also impacts decisions on different processes ,” Antonian explains . “ With traditional excavation methods , you ' re removing the problem and you ' re confirming that it ' s gone . You have a clean slate because once you do your post-removal confirmatory sampling
“ Green remediation is about minimizing the resources used while achieving your remediation goals or objectives for groundwater or soil contamination ,”
you ' re done as far as the ( NJDEP ) is concerned .”
On the other hand , sustainable methods can be less absolute . “ When you ' ve treated in-situ , it ' s a timing issue . Oftentimes , you cannot confirm with as much accuracy that the treatment is going to work . Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn ' t ,” she explains .
Fuad concurs . “ In-situ treatment may not work ,” he says . “ It might also create a secondary problem . What is fine today but might not be fine 10 years from now ,” he offers .
Timing is another issue . “ A sustainable practice may seem to be more economical and a better alternative , I have seen that sometimes it ends up taking much longer and you ' re going back to confirm multiple times ,” notes Antonian . “ Depending on your site and the type of contaminant you ' re trying to address , it may take longer and result in more issues ,” she says .
Managing Client Expectations
While the government and the professional community want to see more sustainable remediation processes succeed , clients require more education on the risks and benefits to the planet .
“ You always want to reduce exposure to toxic chemicals as well as improve air and water quality ,” notes l Brilliant . “ But we also have to look at what health risks might be . You need to know what ' s going to happen on that property before you start cleaning up a site .”
“ The way you present sustainable methods matters ,” suggests Fuad . “ The way you approach any green remedy , you don ' t do it because it reduces carbon . You do it because it meets the remediation objective . You ' re saving money or saving time for the client . It usually makes sense to them ,” he suggests .
“ It ' s very site-specific ,” adds Antonian . “ Much depends on whether the owner is looking only at economics . It is not a one-size-fits-all answer .” April 2024 COMMERCE 15