TRP Chapter 6.8 1

Chapter 6.8Site selection for hazardous waste

treatment facilities

TRP Chapter 6.8 2

Site selection and the planning process

Site selection

National strategy

Regional strategy

Action Plan

To establish need for one or more facilities

Environmental impact assessment (EIA)

Feasibility study

TRP Chapter 6.8 3

Broad considerations for site selection

Requires systematic screening to address:

•Technical and scientific aspects eg

•geological

•environmental

•engineering

•Economic issues

•Regulatory factors

•Public acceptance

Siting is not exclusively a technical challenge

TRP Chapter 6.8 4

Public resistance to site selection

Public is generally concerned about hazardous waste.

Other specific concerns:• Past experience• Anxiety about health & environmental impacts • Low confidence in science and technology• Mistrust of outsiders• Lack of trust in regulatory agencies• Concern about effects on quality of life • NIMBY

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Public participation

Aims to: • Promote public awareness of waste management

situation in general, hazardous waste in particular• Promote public understanding of the need for this

facility• Inform the public of the stages for this project• Communicate with the public to get their views

Sucessful siting should:

- be understood and accepted by the public

- include opportunities for compensation where appropriate

TRP Chapter 6.8 6

Preliminary needs assessment

• Amount of waste generated and any variations in quantity eg seasonal

• Type of waste

• Potential for reduction, recycling & recovery

• Imports and exports

Must take account of:

• data reliability

• illegal disposal

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Responsibility for site selection

• Government:

Waste management policy & legislation

Planning Information to public• Regulatory authority:

Licensing, inspection & monitoring

Assess environmental and health impacts• Developer:

Select & acquire appropriate site

Select appropriate technology

Finance, design, build (and operate) facility

Local stakeholders must also be involved

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Goals of site selection

• is technically suitable

• minimises health risks

• minimises environmental impacts

• maximises public acceptability

• minimises costs

Identification of a site which:

TRP Chapter 6.8 9

Different approaches to site selection

•Voluntary approach - where communities compete to host facility

•Participative or technical approach - where informed decision is reached on best site, despite community resistance

TRP Chapter 6.8 10

Voluntary approach

Starts with assumption that one or more communities will accept facility - consultation begins early

•Public & local government are informed of objectives

•Detailed discussion of project with regional planners, local government and interest groups

•Overview study of potential sites - results published

•Candidate sites identified and discussed - citizens committees formed

•Detailed exploration of specific sites conducted - results published

•One site is selected

•The process of securing final approval begins

TRP Chapter 6.8 11

Participative (technical) approach

• Screening and exclusionary criteria formulated

• Candidate areas chosen, unsuitable areas eliminated, by

large-area mapping (scale 1:250,000)

• Promising areas identified with larger scale maps (1: 25,000)

• Screening criteria used to evaluate potential host areas

• Candidate sites chosen

• Preferred sites chosen and studied

• One site selected

• Process of securing final approval begins

Starts by identifying a number of potentially suitable sites before involving the public

TRP Chapter 6.8 12

Stages in the process

•Constraint mapping

•Information sources

•Exclusion criteria

•Walk-over surveys

•Conceptual designs

•Preferred site investigation

•Feasibility studies

•Environmental impact assessment (EIA)

TRP Chapter 6.8 13

Constraint mapping

Siting criteria include:

Physical constraints eg soils, surface water, stability

Ecological constraints eg flora & fauna

Human values eg recreation, landscape

Land use eg agricultural value, development potential

Waste disposal suitability eg access, proximity to waste generators

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Information sources Data sources for desk-based screening include:• Cartographic authority• Government transport and land planning

departments• Water supply authority• Geological institutes• Aviation authority• Hydrology and meteorology institutes• Government ministries• Municipalities

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Exclusion criteria

Used to remove possible sites from long list

Examples - exclude from list if:• >2km from public highway• located on river flood plain• land reserved for other uses• <200m from residences• <5km from airport• inside microwave transmitter exclusion zone• located on active geological fault

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Walk-over surveys

• Essential part of process• Enable more realistic assessment of site

conditions• Take less than a day• Do not involve sub-surface investigation• Data is recorded eg on checklist

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Conceptual designs

• Must be developed for each short-listed candidate site

• Outline drawings only• Used for estimating

– capacity– costs– extent of engineering work needed– impact on waste collection system– any likely additional resources eg vehicles, transfer

stations

TRP Chapter 6.8 18

Preferred site investigation

Issues to be investigated:• Geo-technical conditions including seismic and

slope stability• Topographic land survey• Groundwater and surface water quality and levels• Geological and geo-chemical conditions for

foundation engineering and earthworks• Quantities of soil to be moved• Natural ecology• Ambient noise levels

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Feasibility report

• physical & natural environment (see also Environmental Impact Assessment)

• technical appropriateness• economic justification and viability• social acceptability• legal compliance

Feasibility report starts with description of site selection processDemonstrates suitability of site and chosen technology regarding:

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Environmental Impact Assessment

EIA is used to:

Identify which activities likely to give rise to significant adverse impacts

Prompts: appropriate mitigation measures

ORrejection of site

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Chapter 6.8 Summary

• Site selection comprises:

•Technical and scientific aspects

•Economic issues

•Regulatory factors

•Public acceptance

• Siting is not exclusively a technical challenge

• Responsibility is shared: government, regulatory authority, developer, other stakeholders

• It should be a staged process