Specialists in Contaminated Land, Industrial Trade Activities & Compliance.
Our Mission is to facilitate in a cost effective and professional manner the restoration and maintenance of land and water from the impact of human endeavours where these may cause degradation in human health or the environment.
Our Services.
Site
Assessments
Disposal
To Land
Compliance
Monitoring
Risk
Management
We believe that soil and water are two of mankind’s most valuable assets, and seek to remediate, re-use and manage soil and water adversely impacted by human activities in a sustainable and cost effective manner.
Geosciences Ltd was established in 2009 to provide services and advice to industry and to the commercial, residential and agricultural sectors on matters related to soil contamination, surface water and and groundwater pollution. In 2023 we are proud to have joined forces with SQN.
Our staff understand the regulatory framework that dictates investigation, remediation and validation processes alongside having expertise in industrial trade activity obligations and disposal to land requirements. Our client driven approached ensures a smooth process for obtaining consent from local government for any earthworks activities related to impacted land.
We undertake work throughout New Zealand.
Site Assesments.
We're here to assist our clients throughout the consenting process, collaborating closely with local authorities to achieve a favorable and sustainable outcome that benefits both the project and the environment.
When considering the subdivision, development, or redevelopment of a piece of land, it is often necessary to conduct a Preliminary or Detailed Site Assessment (PSI or DSI). This assessment evaluates soil conditions in accordance with the National Environmental Standard (NES) for Assessing and Managing Contaminants in Soil to Protect Human Health. Its primary goal is to identify any potential risks to human health in relation to the proposed land use.
Additionally, the assessment includes an evaluation against locally applicable environmental protection criteria to determine the relevance of Regional Plan regulations. If contamination is detected during this process, a Remediation Action Plan (RAP) and possibly a Site Management Plan (SMP) are mandatory. After completing the remediation activities, a Site Validation Report (SVR) is required to certify that the remedial work adhered to the RAP and complied with the necessary resource consents.
We specialize in offering comprehensive investigations and reports for the following requirements:
Preliminary Site Investigation (PSI)
Detailed Site Investigation (DSI)
Soil Quality Assessment (SQI)
Remediation Action Plan (RAP)
Site Management Plan (SMP)
Site Validation Report (SVR)
Disposal to Land.
SQN GeoSciences offers a swift and efficient Soil Quality Investigation (SQI) service in the context of managing surplus soil generated during residential intensification and development projects.
This SQI helps assess various offsite disposal options for surplus soil. It can be conducted in situ before commencing earthworks or on existing soil stockpiles excavated from development areas, all while adhering to the Ministry for the Environment and WasteMINZ land disposal guidelines.
In New Zealand, there are numerous managed fill facilities, each with unique soil acceptance criteria depending on its location and proximity to sensitive environments and groundwater sources. These managed fill facilities present an eco-friendly alternative for handling surplus soil that might otherwise end up in landfills. They are typically used to rejuvenate unusable land, such as low-lying depressions or gullies, transforming them into functional, dry, and usable landforms through controlled backfilling.
SQN GeoSciences has played a pivotal role in establishing several Managed Fill facilities across New Zealand. Our services encompass assessments to determine site-specific waste acceptance criteria, fill management procedures, and discharge monitoring regimes. We also engage in negotiations with territorial authorities to secure the necessary consents for operating such facilities, all while ensuring compliance with the Resource Management Act (RMA) regulations, which govern discharges into streams, surface waters, and groundwater. Resource consents are typically required for such discharges under the RMA.
SQN GeoSciences can provide advice regarding discharges from a site, plant or operation as well as monitoring services for assessing any discharges alongside reporting to the local authorities.
Clean fill
Managed Fill
Landfills
Soil Quality Investigations (SQI)
Water quality investigations
Compliance Monitoring.
Industrial and trade processes often have unavoidable discharges associated with them and to ensure those discharges do not adversely impact the environment, discharge permits can include conditions for regular monitoring, reporting and improvement.
We are well versed in the preparation of Environmental Management Plans (EMP), Spill Response Plans (SRP), and Trade Waste Management Plans specific for Client operations. Our team of experts also derives and negotiates monitoring regimes and undertakes regular compliance monitoring and reporting to address discharge permit conditions and Council bylaw monitoring requirements.
Contact SQN Geosciences for assistance with:
Industrial Trade Activity
Environmental Management Plans
Environmental Compliance Monitoring
Trade Waste Compliance Monitoring
Risk Management.
Risks and liability associated with contaminated land, buildings containing hazardous building materials, and asbestos can be significant and should be considered as part of investment and divestment strategies.
Environmental Due Diligence (EDD) is one way of assessing the risk of any property prior to acquisition or divestment and provides commentary on the potential risks and liabilities associated with that site.
Geosciences has conducted numerous due diligence surveys and as “an acceptable” risk is very different to different entities, we pride ourselves in tailoring a specific client approach on a site by site basis.
Indeed, “one shoe does not fit all” and conducting EDDs for large multinational companies to mum and dad investors ensures we are well equipped to design a survey to suit the client’s needs taking into consideration the cost, level of certainty and time factors.
Geosciences can provide assistance with the following. Please contact us at any time for a discussion regarding risk before investing, divesting or simply benchmarking of current operations or land.
Environmental Technical Due Diligence
Hazardous Building Materials (asbestos)
Assessment of Environmental Affects (AEE)
Environmental Benchmarking
Let’s Work Together.
We’re always looking for new projects, big or small. Please get in touch and one of our consultants will get in contact.