into dutch soils

7/24/2019 Into Dutch Soils

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Into Dutch Soils


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Into Dutch Soils | 01

A swif overview o how he Duch manage heir soils:a source o inspiraion or your own pracice

Into Dutch Soils


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02 | Rijkswaterstaat

The text

This bookle provides an overview o 35 years o Duch soil

policy developmen, beginning wih a descripion o how i

all began: he geological and hisorical developmen o he

Neherlands. I considers quesions like: Why does a poriono he Duch populaion live below sea level? And how have

he aciviies o he Duch over ime affeced he soil

qualiy?

Soil legislaion provides he legal ramework or curren

land use in he Neherlands. Amongs many more, i defines

liabiliy and enables susainable land managemen. I

relaes o a large number o oher legislaive fields,

specifically wih respec o oher environmenal compar-

mens like groundwaer, surace waer and sedimens. These

marices are only menioned shorly in his bookle.

In addiion, a large array o echnical guidelines and

approaches has been developed over he years. These

insrumens play a major role in daily pracice. The key

elemens are inroduced in his bookle.

This 2ndediion o his bookle was writen or he Minisry

o Inrasrucure and he Environmen by Frank Lam and

Linda Maring o Delares wih a conribuion o Frank

Swarjes o RIVM.


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The photos

The phoos in his bookle show he Duch in direc conac

wih heir soil and represen everyday aciviies like

agriculure, he consrucion o underground inrasrucure,

recreaion, children playing, spors, soil remediaion,building aciviies, he developmen o man-made

environmen, invesigaion o soil qualiy and archaeology.

Table of contents

Hisory o he Duch dela 05Duch soil: ypes and qualiy 11

Developing a soil policy 15

Skech o he legislaive ramework 21

Fuure developmens in soil policy 25

Many paries involved 29

Decisions o he 33

Liabiliy: who pays he bill? 37

Soil uncions and ambiions 41

Knowing he soil qualiy 45

Waer and sedimens 49

Technical guidelines 53

Risk assessmen 57

The Duch soil qualiy sandards 61

Invesigaing he soil qualiy 67

Soluions 71

Index 75

Duch soil on he inerne 79


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The Neherlands is a ypical dela area, wih

wo major rivers, he Rhine and he Meuse,

flowing ino he Norh Sea.

The Neherlands as we know i oday

developed predominanly during he

Holocene, approximaely he las 10,000

years, when he ice shees o he las ice age

meled and rereaed o he norh. As a

consequence, beween 10,000 and 5,000

years ago, he sea level rose by some 35

meres. For he las 5,000 years he sea level

has risen by only a ew meres. This risingsea level caused he wesern par o he

Neherlands o become largely covered by

he sea some 5,000 years ago.

Beore ocusing on he way he Duch deal

wih heir soil, le us firs go back in hisory

and look a he developmen o he

Neherlands as we now know i. The rivers

were able o move reely over he land,

deposiing clay, sand and gravel during

seasonal floods wihin a wide floodplain.

Swamps developed in he coasal area and

he slighly higher-lying easern par o he

Neherlands was covered by woods and high

moorlands.

Early inhabians were huner-gaherers,

bu progressively hey setled and became

armers, clearing he woods or armland.The wesern par o he Neherlands

gradually evolved due o deposiion o sand

and clay and he developmen o pea in he

coasal area, wih he sea becoming a

diminishing influence on he coasal area.

The presence of the Romans in the

Netherlands between 12 B.C. and 450

A.D. saw their roads and buildings bring

subsanial progress o he Neherlands. The

River Rhine ormed a naural norhern

border o he Roman Empire.

The lae Middle Ages (1050 - 1500 A.D.)

specifically saw exploiaion o he pea

swamps and moorlands. Diches were dug o

drain he swamps and dikes were build along

he rivers and he coas. This allowed

permanen occupaion o he wesern pars

o he counry. Social and organisaionalsrucures sared o develop, resuling in he

worlds very firs democraically chosen orm

o adminisraion, waer auhoriies. These

waer auhoriies were responsible

or he waer managemen o he lower

regions.

History of the Dutch delta


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The exensive pea cover o he wesern par

o he Neherlands proved o be a valuable

source o energy. This was o growing

imporance a he end o he Middle Ages as

he period known as he Litle Ice Age

sared when he Neherlands suffered longand cold winers. Having a large source o

pea available or heaing purposes, urher

economic and social developmen was

possible, despie he climaic condiions a

ha ime, resuling in booming economic

developmen during he 17h cenury, or

he golden cenury as i became known in

he Neherlands.

During his period, he Duch flee made he

counry a major miliary power ha

dominaed he world rade. Wih demand

or big sailing ships or world rade, he ciy

o Amserdam, wih is naural harbour,

sared o play a major role. Unil hen oher

ciies in he Neherlands, like Urech, had

been o ar greaer poliical and economicimporance. However, in conras o

Amserdam, hose ciies had no direc

connecion o he sea. The ciy o

Amserdam, which had slowly developed

during he cenuries beore, now became an

imporan economic power as he base o

Duch rade merchans. The quickly growing

populaion uelled he demand or more

ood and energy, a need ha obviously

coninued afer he booming 17h cenury.

Areas in he ormer coasal zone wih rich

pea deposis were excavaed urher andurher. Where he pea was hick, his

resuled in shallow lakes. In oher places,

naural lakes were surrounded by dikes and

wih he use o windmills he waer was

pumped ou. This resuled in new land

below sea level, he amous Duch polders.

The level o he groundwaer in hese areas

ofen lies jus a ew decimeres below he

soil surace. In he pas, armers hereore

welcomed (household) wase o raise he

soil level o heir land. In some areas, his

has resuled in widely disribued diffuse

conaminaion o he arable land and

grassland.

Unil less hen 100 years ago, waer was amajor roue or ransporaion. Boas could

carry ar more reigh han could be

ranspored over land. Having pleny o

waer in he wesern par o he

Neherlands, he economic developmen in

his area was given a urher boos and a

nework o villages and ciies developed,

housing more and more people in he lower

pars o he Neherlands.

Bu he densiy o populaion and indusry

ook is oll on he soil qualiy, a siuaion

ha is cerainly no unique o heNeherlands. Similar processes have

occurred in oher (densely) populaed areas

around he world.

Obviously, waer is sill a hrea, no only

rom he sea bu also rom he rivers. Dunes

along he Norh Sea coas and dikes around

lakes and rivers proec he low areas o he

Neherlands agains he waer. The las ime

large floods encroached upon par o he

Neherlands was in 1953. A norh-weserly

sorm coincided wih a spring ide o raise

he sea level o a record heigh, which

proved oo much or many o he dikes,

specifically in he province o Zeeland. More

han 1,800 people died and some 100,000

people became homeless as a resul o hisbreach. This promped a major upgrading o

he Duch sea deences, he so-called Dela

Works.

The very firs inhabians o he Neherlands

had o cope wih he omnipresen waer;

his need or proecion agains he sea and


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The Neherlands below and above sea level

(Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland)

Some facts and figures

The River Rhineis 1,320 km long. From its source in

the Swiss Alps, it passes through France and Germany

with a catchment area o 185,000 km2and an average

o 2,200 m3/s o water flows through the Netherlands.

The River Meuseis 925 km long and originates in

France, passing through Belgium beore arriving in the

Netherlands. Its catchment covers an area o 36,000

km2and the average flow rate is 230 m3/s.

The North Seais a relatively shallow coastal area o

the Atlantic Ocean. It covers the area between theUnited Kingdom, the Netherlands, northwest

Germany, Denmark and the southern part o Norway;

its total area is 575,000 km2with an average depth o

just 95 m.

The royal kingdom o the Netherlandscovers 41,526

km2and is inhabited by 16.9 million people. The

coastline is 451 km long. Most o the land surace is

flat, except or some remnant lateral moraine o thelast ice age in the central part, and a hilly area in the

south east. The highest point in the Netherlands is

323 m, right on the border with Germany and

Belgium. The lowest point is 6.76 m below sea level.

In all some 40% o the land area lies below sea level.

Elevation level of the Netherlands

Below sea level

Above sea level

Cities

Rivers


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rivers over he cenuries has become rooed

in he Duch who, despie hese risks, value

he soil beneah heir ee!

Nowadays, he Neherlands is a densely

populaed counry, averaging almos 500people per km2, a figure ha rises o almos

1,300 inhabians per km2in is mos

densely populaed province o Zuid-

Holland! And alhough an increasing

amoun o agriculural land is gradually

becoming urbanised, redevelopmen o ha

urban area is ineviable i spaial develop-

men is o keep in line wih growing needs.

Tha he Duch should be conroned wiha soil legacy was inescapable.


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The concept of defining soil quality with legislative

reference values was so new, that it was even

implemented in a number of other countries


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Dutch soil: types and quality

The descripion o he ormaion o he

Neherlands during he pas 10,000 years in

he previous chaper provides a ramework

or he soil ypes presen. These soil ypes

are srongly relaed o he aliude o hesoil hroughou is ormaion.

Saring a he Norh Sea coas in he wes,

we firs encouner a coasal dune area

whose sands are marine in origin and

deposied by onshore winds. This is a

relaively narrow zone, bu o grea

significance or sea deences. The dunes no

only proec he low counry rom flooding,

bu also provide a barrier beween he sal

waer o he Norh Sea and he resh

groundwaer inland.

Jus eas o hese dunes is a zone wih

surace marine clays ha covers boh he

wesern and norhern par o he

Neherlands. Furher inland is he ormer

coasal swamp region. Given he significan

excavaion o pea deposis hroughou he

cenuries, he pea is no longer as wide-spread as i used o be. Wha ofen remains

here a he surace is he marine clay which

was originally a he base o he pea.

In he cenral par o he Neherlands a zone

wih river deposis can be ound. The main

soil ype here is river clay. Away rom his

cenral area, in he somewha higher

regions o he norh, eas and souh, sandy

soils occur, while in he norhern par o he

counry boulder clay is ound. These

deposis were ormed during he las ew ice

ages, when he climae in he Neherlands

was much colder and he large norhern ice

shee occasionally reached halway ino he

counry.

Soils in he Neherlands, specifically in he

clay areas, are rich and a grea source orcrop producion. Indeed, agriculure is an

imporan aciviy in he Neherlands.

Wih he indusrial revoluion a he end o

he 19hcenury, he Neherlands changed

rom a predominanly agriculural o an

indusrialised sociey. As an agriculural

sociey, he Duch predominanly lived in

harmony wih he soil bu indusrialisaion

made demands on he soil wih which i

could no cope. The sel-susaining armer

o he pas became a ciizen who no longer

undersood he needs and capabiliies o

he soil and ormer agriculural land


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increasingly became urbanised and

indusrialised.

Public awareness o soil conaminaion

sared in 1979 afer he soil in some major

areas was ound o be conaminaed, as inhe residenial area o Lekkerkerk, which

came as a shock o he public in he

Neherlands. Given ha he exen o he

problem had been underesimaed or quie

a number o years, he governmen realised

ha legislaion would be necessary o deal

wih i. Forunaely, he governmen had

sared o develop soil legislaion some

years earlier, which resuled in he firsInerim Soil Remediaion Ac, passed in

1983.

Once he firs (ew) chemical dump sies had

been ound, a broadly embraced eeling

emerged among he Duch ha hey had o

ake care o heir soil. Coincidence or no,

his fited righ in wih a general growing

environmenal awareness in he

Neherlands, expressed in a srong

environmenal movemen during he 1980s

and 1990s.

Expecing a firs only a limied number o

conaminaed sies, i was assumed ha

hese problems could be compleely solved

in jus a decade. However, he appearance o

more and more conaminaed sies, mainly

local polluion bu occasionally also

regionally ound diffuse conaminaion,

raised he ear among expers o wheherany clean, unpollued, areas were lef in he

Neherlands. We now know ha he

majoriy o he rural and naural areas o he

Neherlands are indeed sill unpollued.

The quesion wheher he soil is

conaminaed or no leads by definiion o

he need or a ramework o esablish such

a judgemen. For his he Duch Minisryo he Environmen developed he A, B

and C values firs published in 1983 as par

o he Inerim Soil Remediaion Ac.

The concep o defining soil qualiy wih

legislaive reerence values was so new ha

he lis no only atraced grea ineres rom

counries all over he world, i was even

implemened in a number o oher

counries. Since hen changes have been

made o boh he numerical values, he

erms used, and he role and uncion o

hese erms. This is considered laer in his

bookle (see he chaper The Duch soil

qualiy sandards).


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Soil ypes in he Neherlands

(Brus et.al. Environmental Pollution 157 (2009), 2043 - 2052)


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Developing a soil policy

Wih he discovery o he firs major

pollued sies in he lae 1970s, he Duch

governmen realised ha i was due ime o

develop a soil conaminaion policy.

Bearing in mind ha a he ime only asmall number o conaminaed sies had

been expeced, i was assumed ha hese

problems could be compleely solved. The

iniial policy approach, hereore, was ha

all conaminaion should be eliminaed.

Consequenly, a remediaed sie would be fi

or all possible uure uncions, ranging

rom heavy indusry o a domesic vegeable

garden.

Considering he urgency o dealing wih

serious soil polluion, such as direcly under

domesic housing, he firs Inerim Soil

Remediaion Ac passed in 1983. I inro-

duced he concep o a muliuncional

soil wih he objecive o allowing every

kind o reuse afer remediaion.

In addiion, he Soil Proecion Ac came

ino effec on 1 January 1987 wih he aim oprevening soil conaminaion. For

siuaions where new soil conaminaion

neverheless developed, he polluer pays

principle was inroduced. The person or

organisaion ha causes he soil conamin-

aion is liable or is remediaion (see also

he chaper Liabiliy: who pays he bill?).

Since hen his principle has been embraced

as a unding mechanism or soil reme-

diaion in a large number o counries.

In he Naional Environmenal Policy Plans

o 1989 and 1993, he aim was sill o

remediae all sies wih serious soil

conaminaion beore 2010. However,

acknowledging he discovery o more and

more pollued sies, he Naional Environ-

menal Policy Plan o 1997 amended he

ambiions by saing ha all sies wih soilpolluion should be known beore 2005 and

ha all sies wih serious risks shall be

conrolled prior o 2030.

As or new soil conaminaion, he principle

o a muliuncional soil remained, as i

does oday. However, or soil ha was

conaminaed prior o 1 January 1987, he

concep o a muliuncional soil was

abandoned. In view o experiences over

previous years, i was eviden ha he

demands o he muliuncional soil

concep or hisorical soil polluion ofen

canno be me. Addiionally, echnological


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developmens in he remediaion field

inroduced a whole series o new mehods

o deal wih a conaminaion. Consequenly,

dig and dump was no longer he only

possible soluion.

For immobile conaminans he aim was oesablish a soil qualiy ha is fi or is uure

land use. The new uncion o he soil,

hereore, deermines he exen o which

remediaion is necessary. For mobile

conaminans he remediaion measures

should be deermined by cos effeciveness,

which migh imply he reamen o

conaminaion over a longer period raher

han rying o solve he problem wihin aew weeks or monhs.

In 1994 he A,B and C values or he

appraisal o he soil and groundwaer

qualiy were replaced by a new se o

risk-based acion values. The lowes level

(Targe values) defines he qualiy o

unpollued soils while he highes level

(Inervenion values) defines when

remediaion becomes necessary.

On 1 January 1995, soil remediaion was

included in he Soil Proecion Ac, hereby

ending he Inerim Soil Remediaion Ac.

In he ourh Naional Environmenal Policy

Plan, published in 2001, he Duchgovernmen saes is inenion o end he

ranser o environmenal coss o uure

generaions. This policy saemen

underlined he ambiion o 1997: in 2030 all

sies wih serious soil polluion should be

under conrol. In 2002 legislaion acually

incorporaed he principles se by he

Naional Environmenal Policy Plan o 1997

wih respec o specific local circumsances.These circumsances mus deermine he

remediaion measures necessary in order o

obain a cos-effecive remediaion. I

incorporaes a risk-based approach; he

highes risk is given op prioriy.

On 1 January 2006 a new Soil Proecion Ac

came ino effec. I incorporaed he

amended legislaion wih respec o

uncional remediaion and inroduced a

crierion or urgen remediaion.

Finally, on 1 July 2008, he Soil Qualiy

Decree and is accompanying Soil Qualiy

Regulaion came ino effec. I was

developed in ligh o idenified problems

wihin exising legislaion. These were:

1. he qualiy o he acual aciviies,

2. he managemen o (slighly) pollued

sies and,

3. he environmenal sae use obuilding maerials.

Consequenly, he Soil Qualiy Decree was

developed rom a differen perspecive. No

longer a sricly environmenal perspecive

governs soil policy. Nowadays a balance is

esablished beween he proecion o he

soil and is use or economic and social

purposes.

Thereore he Soil Qualiy Decree consiss o

hree pars. The firs par deals wih qualiy

assurance whereby requiremens are se

wih respec o he regisraion and

assurance o he aciviies perormed by

people and organisaions, boh in he field

and in he laboraory. To pu i simply, i

provides an answer o he quesion o

wheher he repored aciviies have indeed

been perormed in line wih regulaions and

he acceped work procedures (like naional

sandards). I helps o se a balance beween

he coss and qualiy o he work in a highly

compeiive marke.


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The second par is he resul o he

incorporaion o he Building Maerials

Decree which originally became effecive on

1 July 1999. Wih he esablishmen o he

Soil Qualiy Decree, he Building Maerials

Decree is no longer a sandalone decree.Alhough he Soil Qualiy Decree brough

some changes, is conens are comparable

wih he ormer Building Maerials Decree.

I aims o regulae he environmenally sae

use and reuse o sony building maerials.

As such i provides an imporan field o

applicaion or secondary building maerials

like slags, ha would oherwise have had o

be disposed o in he absence o environ-menally sae reuse regulaion.

The hird par deals wih soil and dredged

sludge. I ses soil qualiy crieria or

differen soil uncions ha apply boh o

he soil in-siu as well as o soil or dredged

sludge ha will be applied on land. Seting

soil uncion crieria aims o incorporae

he soil qualiy as a crierion in sie

redevelopmen and spaial planning. I

provides a sound basis or susainable land

managemen.

Togeher wih he Soil Qualiy Decree also

he financial means were made available o

ulfil is policy goals.

The Soil Qualiy Regulaion, which provides

a echnical and pracical ranslaion o heSoil Qualiy Decree, conains an enirely

new sysem o regulaory values or soil and

dredged sludge, replacing he se o Targe

and Inervenion values published in 2000.

This se is now defined rom he perspecive

o soil (re)use. As he Soil Qualiy Decree

does no include legislaion wih respec o

groundwaer, i does no change he Targe

and Inervenion values or groundwaer sein 2000.

Despie he ac ha he Soil Qualiy Decree

does no include Inervenion values, hese

sill exis. A parly updaed se o

Inervenion values was published in 2013

as hey coninue o be he crierion or he

remediaion o conaminaed sies.


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0

100000

200.000

300.000

400.000

500.000

600.000

700.000

19801989

19972004

20052007

20092013

Numbe

rofsites

Development of estimated workload

425.000

250.000255.000

330.000

615000

35.000

4.200

Need for (urgent)

remediation

Potentially (seriously)

contaminated

205.000

Estimated workload

Since 1980, several investigations on the number o contam-

inated sites were undertaken in the Netherlands, but many

uncertainties remained. In 1998, the government decided on

a new thorough investigation, based on the evaluation oenvironmental permits, knowledge o activities that are a

threat to soil quality, and aerial photographs. This resulted in

a number o 615,000 potentially contaminated sites in 2004,

o which a workload o 425,000 potentially seriously con-

taminated sites remained afer first screening. Further local

site investigations had to reveal the scale o contamination

and the possible need or remediation.

Afer urther evaluation and soil remediation, the workload

was adjusted downwards several times. In 2013 the remain-

ing workload o potentially seriously contaminated sites was

estimated at 250,000 sites. Approximately 1,600 o these

sites need urgent remediation, because o human health

risks (9%), risks rom transport o contaminants in ground-

water (70%), ecological risks (8%) or combinations o those

risks (13%).

For the remaining sites o the workload, the soil contamina-

tion is expected not to represent actual risks. Thereore, sus-tainable land management is sufficient and remediation can

take place at a convenient moment in time, or example,

when building activities or other soil-related activities take

place. The number o remediated sites in The Netherlands

rom 1980 until 2013 is approximately 30,000.


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Sketch of the

legislative frameworkThe previous chaper provided an overview

o he developmens in Duch soil policy

and he legislaion ha was derived rom i.

This legislaion is no auonomous; i is

embedded in more general environmenallegislaion. There is also legislaion or

closely relaed environmenal comparmens

like surace waer, groundwaer and wase.

The overarching environmenal legislaion is

provided in he Environmenal Managemen

Ac ha firs came ino effec in 1993. The ac

ses general regulaions or waer, air, soil and

wase as well as he ramework or specificlegislaion. Wihin ha ramework, i allows

he definiion o environmenal qualiy

demands, including he se o regulaory

values or soil and dredged sludge as

incorporaed in he Soil Qualiy Regulaion.

Furhermore, he Environmenal

Managemen Ac provides he basis o

enorce environmenal legislaion.

Provinces, waer auhoriies, municipaliies

and he naional governmen along wih isinspecion services ulfil differen asks in

enorcing he environmenal legislaion.

Due o he decenralisaion, he municipali-

ies have an imporan role in enorcing he

Soil Qualiy Decree. The governmen is

empowered o impose a fine or o sop

aciviies when he rules o he Soil Qualiy

Decree are violaed.

For a lo o aciviies in which soil is involved,

a permi is necessary. And as he municipaliy

is he compeen auhoriy, boh or

providing hese permis as well as or

enorcing he law, a conflic o ineress

migh occur, paricularly in siuaions where

he municipaliy isel develops hese

aciviies. In order o ensure he auonomy o

he legislaion enorcer, he EnvironmenalManagemen Ac demands he enorcers o

adop ormal organisaional auonomy.

Alhough in he Neherlands a major disposal

roue or wase is incineraion, or par o he

wase his is simply impossible.

Consequenly, parial disposal o he wase in

landfills is unavoidable. I he landfill is no

equipped wih proper soil proecionmeasures, he wase maerial migh ge ino

conac wih soil and groundwaer. This

underlines he need or environmenal

legislaion or wase and landfills. In his

legislaive field he influence o overarching


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European legislaion on Duch legislaion, in

his case he Environmenal Managemen

Ac, is clear, and he European Landfill

Direcive ses he condiions.

In 2006 he Themaic Sraegy or SoilProecion was published by he European

Commission, he ocus poins o which have

been aken in consideraion when develop-

ing he Soil Qualiy Decree.

Consrucion producs migh have adverse

effecs on soil qualiy hrough he emission

o hazardous subsances, somehing already

ormally recognised in Duch legislaion wihhe publicaion o he Building Maerials

Decree in 1999. In he European field his has

also been recognised, resuling in he

implemenaion o environmenal qualiy

crieria in he Consrucion Producs

Direcive and laer (2013) in he Consrucion

Producs Regulaion. Again, when incorpor-

aing he Building Maerials Decree in he

Soil Qualiy Decree, accoun was aken ohese European developmens. This is

imporan, since consrucion producs are

quie ofen expored and impored so hey

should mee he naional requiremens,

irrespecive o wheher hey are produced

inside or ouside he Neherlands. Having he

same requiremens hroughou Europe, and

using he same mehods o deermine he

environmenal impac o hese producs, is

vial o Duch and European indusry.

I has already been menioned ha apar

rom he Soil Qualiy Decree, here is also a

Soil Qualiy Regulaion. In ac, having a

regulaion in addiion o he decree is a

general principle in Duch Environmenal

legislaion. For he whole legislaive package,

a comparison could be made wih a pyramid.

On op here is he EnvironmenalManagemen Ac. A second layer is ormed by

decrees or differen comparmens, o which

he Soil Qualiy Decree is one. The hird layer

conains a regulaion or each o hese

decrees ha provides more echnical and

pracical rules wih respec o he imple-

menaion o ha decree. The regulaion

isel reers o a whole series o proocols,

sandards as well as cerificaion andaccrediaion schemes. These documens can

be seen as he ourh and las layer o he

pyramid. The documens in his las layer are

no direcly published by he governmen bu

are developed and mainained by naional

insiues like he Neherlands

Sandardisaion Insiue (NEN) and he

Foundaion Inrasrucure or Qualiy

Assurance o Soil Managemen (SIKB). Laer

in his bookle he role o hese bodies will

be described in more deail (see he chaperTechnical guidelines).

When i comes o remediaion, he unding

o he coss is a key acor. Nowadays, since

he remediaion o he majoriy o sies is due

o changes in he sies use, spaial planning

has become an imporan acor.

However, using he possibiliies ha are

offered by he financial provisions in he SoilRemediaion Decree, he governmen also

subsidises he soil remediaion o specific

indusries. An imporan provision herein is

an agreemen beween he governmen and

he umbrella organisaion or a specific ype

o indusry wih respec o he remediaion o

conaminaed soils.


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Overview of curren Duch soil legislaion, ogeher wih relaed European Direcives

Remediation

Prevention and sustainable land management

Environmental Management Act

Soillegislation

Wastelegislation

Water quality

legislation

Air quality

legislation

Compulsory Soil

Investigation atIndustrial Sites Degree

Soil QualityDecree

Soil QualityRegulation

Quality

Assurance

Construction

productsRegulation

Landfill ofwaste Directive

Soil Protection Act

Discharge(Soil Protection)

Decree

Household WaterDischarge Decree

Landfill(Soil Protection)

Decree

Infiltration(Soil Protection)

Decree

Exemptions Decreefor Landfilling outside

Installations

Cases of non-duty

to report SoilRemediation Decree

Designation

Competent AuthoritiesSoil Protection Decree

Soil Clean-upAssessment

Regulation 2006

Uniform

RemediationDecree

UniformRemediation

Regulation

Financial Provisions

Soil RemediationDecree

Registration Limitations(Soil Protection Act)

Regulation

Soil RemediationCircular 2009

Sewage sludgeDirective

Water Act

Water

Framework

Directive

Groundwater

Directive

Industrial

Emissions

Directive

Environmental

Liability

DirectiveBuilding

materials

Soil and

Dredgedsludge

2018 Environment and Planning Act

European

Directivesand Regulation


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Future developmentsin soil policy

A he momen he Duch environmenal

regulaion and legislaion is being rans-

ormed wih he objecive o aciliae

spaial developmen by simpliying and

combining many exising acs and decrees.As a consequence mos o he

Environmenal Managemen Ac (in oal 15

exising laws) will be inegraed in he

Environmen and Planning Ac.

Expecaions are ha he Environmen and

Planning Ac will be empowered in 2018.

Currenly, he major responsibiliy or soil is

being decenralised. Wih a covenan(2010-2015) beween he sae governmen,

provinces, municipaliies and waer

auhoriies, ambiions were ormulaed

concerning remediaion and susainable

use o he subsurace. Arrangemens were

made o reach hese goals ogeher. Wih

he covenan, he major responsibiliy or

soil is decenralised. A succeeding covenan

is now being prepared and will be effecive

in 2016. One o he ambiions o he newcovenan is o involve he privae secor in

he new arrangemens.

The ransiion in soil regulaion can be

divided in wo main sreams:

1. Taking charge of the remediation

operation

In he firs covenan period, many siesare invesigaed and remediaed,

including mos o he urgen sies. The

nex sep is he managemen phase,

aimed a conaminaions ha canno be

excavaed, and ha have a risk o spread.

This phase ocuses on innovaive

managemen o hese sies, e.g. on he

applicaion o differen in-siu echniques

and area based managemen o conam-

inaed groundwaer. The link wih spaialdevelopmen is vial o he uure o soil

remediaion in he Neherlands, as new

ways o soil usage will iniiae addiional

unding or remediaion aciviies,

especially i hese can be combined wih

anoher land use, e.g. aquier hermal

energy sorage (ATES). Soil remediaion

unrelaed o spaial developmen is

becoming redundan and is replaced byarea based susainable soil managemen.


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| Rijkswaterstaat26

2. Using the possibilities of the

subsurface

Objecive o he amendmens is o ocus

on he susainable use o he subsurace.

This means ha he use o he subsurace

canno be seen separaed rom spaialdevelopmens and socieal challenges

such as climae change, susainable

energy, (ground)waer managemen and

economic developmens. The covenan

addresses differen uncions o he

subsurace. Themes such as susainable

use o resources (eg. sraegic ground-

waer resources) and energy (shale gas,

effecs o gas winning, soil energy) areopics o ineres.

Because no all aspecs can be arranged on

he local or regional level, sraegies are

being prepared on he spaial planning o

he subsurace. In 2012 his was done or

subsurace pipes. In 2013 he naional

governmen sared, in cooperaion wih

local and regional governmens, hepreparaion o a naional sraegy or he

subsurace STRONG. In STRONG decisions

will be made wih respec o spaial

planning wih a naional ineres. I also

should help local or regional governmens

o make decisions on spaial planning, boh

in urban and rural areas. The STRONG is

planned o be ready in 2015. A sraegy or

shale gas (also expeced 2015) will be an

inegral par o STRONG.

The envisaged ransiions will involve

differen governmenal organisaions as

well as privae paries and research

organisaions. This collaboraion aims o

come o agreemen on he use o he

subsurace, he generaion o knowledge

and he necessary financial arrangemens.

Final objecive is he implemenaion osusainable use and managemen o he

subsurace in daily pracice.


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Many parties involved

During he process o ideniying and

remediaing a conaminaed sie, he

number o involved paries easily goes up o

16. This underlines he need o good

communicaion. An example:

The owner o he (poenially) pollued sie

is obviously he firs pary ha is involved. I

migh be ha or a specific ype o indusry

(e.g. drycleaners, uel-filling saions), an

umbrella associaion is delegaed o deal

wih he specific soil problems o he secor.

I so, i will obviously be involved.

A consulan will be conraced o perorm

an invesigaion o he sie alhough he

acual fieldwork will be delegaed o

sampling specialiss. The resuling samples

will hen be ranspored o a specialised

environmenal laboraory. The resuls o he

lab analyses will go o he consulan who

will use i o wrie a repor or he person or

organisaion ha conraced he consulan.

I here is serious soil conaminaion due ohe exen and concenraions ound, a

Main Invesigaion will be necessary. A his

sage a leas he compeen auhoriy will

be inormed.

While he same consulancy firm may

perorm he Main invesigaion, ofen

anoher consulancy firm is conraced.

The compeen auhoriy mus be inormed

abou wha was ound as well, o ake a

ormal decision wih respec o he

remediaion o he sie, i necessary. For he

developmen o a Remediaion Plan a

consulan will be conraced again, hough

his is rarely he same consulan as involved

in he invesigaion phase. The Remediaion

Plan will be announced in a local news

paper by he compeen auhoriy, in ordero inorm neighbouring residens.

The compeen auhoriy will ake a ormal

decision wih respec o how he sie will be

remediaed. Then a conracor (or a

combinaion o conracors ) will be

involved in he acual remediaion. The

remediaion mehod applied will deermine

i groundwaer needs o be reaed on sieand i pollued soil will be excavaed. I he

later, he echnical and financial easibiliy

o cleaning ha soil will deermine wheher

he soil is cleaned or aken o a landfill.

Slighly pollued soils migh be reused on


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| Rijkswaterstaat30

sie, or are ranspored o a soil recycling

aciliy or applicaion elsewhere. Landfilling

is only allowed afer a check by a govern-

men agency.

During he remediaion, a consulan will

ensure ha he environmenal goals o he

remediaion are acually me. Cerainly

during he remediaion phase, neighbouring

residens will have o be inormed abou he

remediaion and is progress.

In order o define he final siuaion

ollowing remediaion, an evaluaion repor

will be produced. The resul o he remedi-

aion will have o be approved by hecompeen auhoriy. I any pos-remedi-

aion care is necessary, his will also require

a specific decision by he compeen

auhoriies.

In pracice, he consulans are in charge o

all pracical work and consequenly hey bear

a large degree o responsibiliy. This is

recognised in he Soil Qualiy Decree inwhich qualiy assurance is an inegral par.


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| Rijkswaterstaat32


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Decisions of thecompetent authority

The compeen auhoriy plays a vial ormal

role in he appraisal and remediaion o

conaminaed sies. The Soil Proecion Ac

designaed he larger Duch municipaliies

and he provinces as compeen auhoriy.A he various sages o dealing wih a

conaminaed sie, a ormalised process will

lead o a ormal decision o he compeen

auhoriy.

Depending on he complexiy o he local

siuaion, wo differen processes exis.

In a complex siuaion, boh he MainInvesigaion (see he chaper Invesigaing

he soil qualiy) as well as he developmen

o a Remediaion Plan sars wih a ormal

noificaion o he compeen auhoriy.

Based on his, he compeen auhoriy will

provide a draf decision which, or a period

o six weeks, will be available or commens

by people and/or organisaions ha have an

ineres in he specific sie. A ormal

decision will be aken by he compeenauhoriy 15 weeks afer receip o he

noificaion. Ineresed paries can sill

appeal o he Sae Council agains he

ormal decision.

Afer he remediaion is finished, he com-

peen auhoriy mus receive he evaluaion

repor. For pos-remediaion care, he same

applies o he repor on he pos-

remediaion care programme. Based onhe repor(s), he compeen auhoriy will

come o a final decision, eigh weeks afer

an evaluaion repor and six monhs or a

pos-remediaion care programme. Again,

paries wih an ineres in he specific sie

can appeal wihin six weeks. I he appeal is

rejeced, a final appeal can sill be made o

he Sae Council.

The previous procedure akes a considerableamoun o ime. This is accepable or

complex siuaions bu or less complex

siuaions i could hinder urher develop-

mens on he sie. In ac, he procedure

could ake more ime han he sie

invesigaion and remediaion isel. For

less complex siuaions, hereore,

a naional uniorm regulaion has been

provided by he naional governmenwhereby he compeen auhoriy needs o

be noified o he ac ha remediaion will

ollow he simplified procedure. A sandard

orm is available or his noificaion.

The compeen auhoriy should decide


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| Rijkswaterstaat34

wihin five weeks i he simplified procedure

can indeed be ollowed. There is no possibil-

iy o appeal agains his decision. I he

compeen auhoriy does no respond wihin

five weeks, he simplified procedure is

implicily acceped.

Afer remediaion is compleed, a sandard

evaluaion orm is provided o he compeen

auhoriy, based on which a ormal decision

on he accepance o he remediaion resul

should be made wihin eigh weeks. Paries

involved have he righ o appeal o he Sae

Council.

The compeen auhoriy no only has a role

in he remediaion par o he Soil Proecion

Ac, i also has a specific role when i comes

o prevenion o soil polluion.

Environmenal permis demand proecive

measures whenever aciviies migh pose a

hrea o he soil qualiy. Obviously his

relaes o he European IPPC direcive

(inegraed polluion prevenion andconrol).


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Although the polluterpays principle is still

valid, for practical and

juridical reasons this

principle cant always

be followed, while

stimulation of theremediation process

also triggers continued

governmental

funding.


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Liability: who pays the bill?

As menioned beore, he polluer pays

principle has already been embedded in

Duch soil legislaion since 1987 when

liabiliy became he key erm in recovering

he cos o soil remediaion. Despie ha,he need persiss or soil remediaion

unding rom he naional governmen.

According o jurisprudence, i is generally

assumed ha beore 1975 people or

companies could no have been aware o

he ac ha aciviies migh conaminae

he soil. Consequenly, all remediaion coss

or a conaminaion caused beore ha daeare, in principle, covered by he naional

governmen. This does however no

compleely exclude conribuions rom

companies in respec o conaminaion

caused prior o 1975. I he polluer had

already been aware o he severe danger o

conaminaing subsances, and puting

hese subsances direcly or indirecly ino

he soil could already have been seen as a

culpable ac, he polluer pays principle issill valid.

Generally speaking, prior o 1975, an exper

working wih chemicals could no have

been aware o he adverse effecs hese

chemicals could have on he soil qualiy.

There were jus oo ew scienific publica-

ions abou soil conaminaion.

Since 1975, hese publicaions sared oemerge more requenly, so an exper

should have aken noe and measures o

proec he soil. I no, a company employ-

ing such expers is regarded as liable or he

soil polluion i caused.

The availabiliy o exper inormaion,

however, sill does no imply he availabiliy

o common knowledge abou soil conam-

inaion. This changed wih he publicaion

o he Soil Proecion Ac in 1987. Thepresens o legislaion implied ha, a leas

in legal erms, everybody in he Neherlands

should be aware o he need o proec he

soil agains conaminaion.

During he grey area beween 1975 and

1987, i is acceped ha non-expers were

sill unaware o exising soil conaminaion.

For propery and premises, or example,achieved beween 1975 and 1987 where he

buyer was unaware o (he risk o ) soil

conaminaion, he governmen may sill

und he remediaion.


39/81

| Rijkswaterstaat38

In order o simulae he remediaion o

indusrial sies and o achieve ha all sies

wih serious risks are conrolled prior o

2030, here are our differen financial

regulaions under he Financial Provisions

Soil Remediaion Decree. Apar rom

simulaing he acual remediaion, hese

also aim o preven bankrupcy o oherwise

financially sound companies due o he

coss o soil remediaion. The governmenal

financial suppor under hese regulaions

can go up o 70% o he remediaion coss.

Wha is he cos or soil remediaion in he

Neherlands? In recen years, he naionalgovernmen has spen around 150 million

euros a year on soil remediaion. In

addiion, he annual marke urnover in

recen years is he same as governmen

spending, which means oal annual

expendiure o around 300 million euros!

Apar rom soil remediaion coss, here are

also coss involved in he susainable landmanagemen or clean or slighly pollued

soils and sedimens.

Coss relaed o he acual use or reuse o

soil maerial will be covered by he pary

responsible or is use or reuse: he coss o

he soil isel, he machinery necessary o

relocae he soil maerial and coss relaed

o sampling and analysis o he soil. In

addiion o ha here are coss relaed o

he developmen and use o Soil Qualiy

Maps (see he chaper Knowing he soil

qualiy).

These coss are parly covered by boh

municipaliies and by spaial redevelop-

men iniiaives. These coss are hereore

an inegral par o oher processes and less

well known. Neverheless, he expendiure

is probably comparable o ha o soilremediaion.


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S il f i d bi i


42/81


Soil functions and ambitions

The Soil Qualiy Decree generically defines

wha he Duch wan o achieve wih respec

o heir soils as well as provides opporuni-

ies or local auhoriies o deviae rom

hese general principles. The local auhoriy

is encouraged o ormulae is own soil

qualiy aims in a Soil Ambiion ha may

relae o all he soil he compeen auhoriy

is responsible or, or may be limied o a

local spaial developmen. The Soil

Ambiion direcly relaes o he curren and/

or uure uncion o he soil: he land use.

The compeen auhoriy - he municipal-

iy, he province or he waer auhoriy - isresponsible or he ormal accepance o

he Soil Ambiion. However, while a

propery developer may also ake he

iniiaive o define a local Soil Ambiion or

he area he is planning o (re)develop, he

compeen auhoriy sill has o ormally

accep i.

The Soil Ambiion is ormulaed in a local

Soil Managemen policy documen which

concreises he local Soil Ambiion.

Apar rom he chemical qualiy, he soil is

also defined in erms o is physical propery

and ecological properies, he geological,

archaeological and culurally hisoric value,

he soil hreas (e.g. erosion, depleion,

salinisaion) and he use o he soil or oher

purposes (e.g. mining, producion odrinking waer, sorage capaciy). I is up o

he compeen auhoriy o define he erms

o local relevance, all o which mus be

aken ino accoun when developing a local

Soil Ambiion. This should be done in close

cooperaion wih responsible paries like

anoher uni wihin he communiys civil

service, or he waer auhoriy, or example.

The curren soil qualiy can be mainained

or enhanced. Taking he opion o main-

aining he soil qualiy, local deerioraion is

allowed, somehing ha migh prove

necessary in order o obain sufficien

flexibiliy in he local soil managemen.

Oherwise he soil qualiy could be an

obsacle or urher spaial developmen. In

ac, when defining he Soil Ambiion, he

compeen auhoriies should consideruure spaial developmens. This makes he

relaionship beween he soil uncion and

he soil qualiy angible - i uses he

opporuniies he soil presens.

When a municipaliy decides o implemen

S il A bi i ll h il i hi h


43/81

| Rijkswaterstaat42

a Soil Ambiion or all he soil wihin he

municipal borders, i is advised o

co-develop his Soil Ambiion wih he

neighbouring municipaliies, he province

and he waer auhoriy. This collaboraive

procedure will resul in more opions o

reuse soil and sedimen simply because iallows he soil o also be reused in one o

he neighbouring municipaliies.

The curren or uure soil uncion (e.g.

agriculure, residence, indusry) deermines

wha kind o soil qualiy is necessary. In is

urn, he prevailing soil qualiy will

deermine which uncions are possible.

I he combinaion o soil uncion and soil

qualiy does no fi, measures have o be

aken. In shor: he soil should be fi or is

use.

I has be come possible o define he Soil

Ambiion due o he acquisiion o a

subsanial amoun o soil qualiy daa over

he years. The Duch now know heir localsoil qualiy.


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Knowing the soil quality


46/81


Knowing the soil quality

The whole concep o susainable land

managemen or clean and slighly pollued

soils is based on an exensive knowledge

abou he soil qualiy. Duch soil has already

been invesigaed or hree decades, no only

a conaminaed sies bu also a unconam-

inaed sies. Theoreically, his implies ha

here is a huge amoun o soil daa available.

In pracice, however, his is misleading since

older daa end no o be digially available

and soil daa are considered o be valid or a

period o only five years. Neverheless, mos

o he soil daa ha are valid are indeed

digially available.

As already menioned, all poenial conam-

inaed sies were idenified in 2005. This

resuled in a naionwide map ha is publicly

accessible hrough inerne. I allows

anyone, boh he lay and proessional public,

o ocus on a specific sie in he Neherlands

and obain is conaminaion saus. One can

simply find ou wheher a sie is suspeced o

soil conaminaion, is under invesigaion or

has been remediaed. The naionwide map

does no provide acual soil qualiy daa. For

his inormaion, one has o conac he

municipal auhoriies. Obviously, as his map

ocuses exclusively on (poenially) conam-

inaed sies, i does no provide soil qualiy

inormaion on he major par o he

Neherlands.

More deailed inormaion on he soil

qualiy is conained in he Soil Qualiy Maps

primarily produced and mainained by he

municipal auhoriies. These Soil Qualiy

Maps are an essenial par o he local soil

managemen aim ha is par o he local

Soil Ambiion (see he chaper Soil

uncions and ambiions). These Soil

Qualiy Maps are based on he available soil

daa and may perain o he whole, or par,

o he municipal area. For example,

agriculural land may be excluded i

insufficien soil qualiy daa are available.

The Soil Qualiy Maps provide generalised

soil qualiy inormaion or specified zones

wihin municipal borders. These zones

end o be disinguished by he municipal-

iys developmen hisory. Even in heabsence o soil qualiy daa, a disincion

in soil qualiy may be expeced beween an

area developed beween 1900 and 1940 and

an area developed, or insance, only in

1990.

The generalised soil qualiy is based on daa A naional guideline is available or he provides soil qualiy sandards (see he


47/81

| Rijkswaterstaat46

The generalised soil qualiy is based on daa

available wihin each zone, excluding

pollued sies wihin hese zones.

The main role o hese Soil Qualiy Maps is

o enable he reuse o soil wihou he need

or analysis. As such, i significanly reduceshe coss associaed wih soil reuse and

gains ime as here is no need o wai or he

resuls o analyses. The local Soil Ambiion

will deermine he zones rom which soil

could be expored o oher zones, and

which zones can impor soil. The general-

ised soil qualiy o he zone is he deermin-

ing acor here. I he Soil Ambiion is

predominanly defined rom an environ-

menal proecion perspecive, he resul

will limi he possibiliies o exchange soil

beween zones. This will mean ha more

soil invesigaions will be necessary han or

a Soil Ambiion ha ries o maximise he

spaial developmens. So, even wih a raher

sric environmenal proecion objecive,

he Soil Ambiion does no rule ou all hesoil ranspor beween zones. I jus implies

ha soil los require esing (ar) more ofen

prior o reuse in order o deermine wheher

he qualiy o a specific soil lo allows i o

be reused a he designaed locaion.

A naional guideline is available or he

developmen o Soil Qualiy Maps.

Soil qualiy inormaion can also be obained

hrough naional and provincial invenories.

This inormaion concerns he acquisiion o

daa on a naionwide or province-wide scaleor he purpose o knowing he general soil

qualiy in he Neherlands and he changes

herein over ime.

Finally, inormaion on he Duch soil

qualiy has been obained rom a naion-

wide invesigaion o he background

concenraions. This paricular sudy is o

imporance as i provides he basis or he

background values ha are now par o he

se o legislaive soil qualiy sandards (see

he chaper The Duch soil qualiy

sandards). The 100 locaions hroughou

he Neherlands or his naionwide sudy

were seleced on he basis o inormaion

on curren land use and using a saisical

sampling design. Composie samples wereaken a hese locaions o represen he soil

qualiy o he op soil (0 - 10 cm) and on an

undisurbed deph (50 - 100 cm). All

composie samples were analysed or all 252

subsances or which Duch legislaion

provides soil qualiy sandards (see he

chaper The Duch soil qualiy sandards).

The analysis o such a large amoun o

subsances in 200 soil samples had never

been perormed beore in he Neherlands.

For he firs ime, naionwide conclusions

could be drawn wih respec o hebackground concenraions.

Deailed soil qualiy inormaion is obviously

no available or all 252 subsances. The Soil

Qualiy Maps, in principle, only cover he

subsances or which he Background value is

requenly exceeded. The definiion o his

sandard se o subsances is based on

combining:

The Background values derived rom he

disribuion o background

concenraions.

An exensive daabase o soil qualiy

measuremens or non-suspec soils as

perormed by he environmenal

laboraories.

The policy decision ha no more han 5%o he rouine measuremens o non-

suspec soils migh exceed he

Background values.

I here is a larger han 5% chance ha a

rouine measuremen o a non-suspec soil

exceeds a Background value, rouine esing Contaminated sites that need urgent remediation, 2013


48/81


exceeds a Background value, rouine esing

o ha subsance is necessary.

Accordingly, he sandard se o subsances

comprises barium, cadmium, cobal,

copper, mercury, lead, molybdenum, nickel,

zinc, sum-PCBs, sum-PAHs and mineral oil.In addiion o hese subsances, he

percenage clay and organic mater also

needs o be deermined in each sample.

Contaminated sites that need urgent remediation, 2013

1

10

50

100

Number of sites

per municipality

Total number of sites: 1643

Conaminaed sies suspeced o need urgen

remediaion (2013) for he individual municipaliies.

(RIVM)


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Water and sediments


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Water and sediments

Like he close relaion beween soil and

groundwaer in he Neherlands, ground-

waer is an inegral par o he Duch

regulaions or soil.

The chemical equilibrium beween soil and

waer implies ha he qualiy o he soil

deermines he qualiy o he groundwaer

and, when presen, he surace waer.

Specifically or he wesern par o he

Neherlands, here is a close relaionship

beween he groundwaer and soil. Ofen

he sauraed zone is (ar) less han a mere

away rom he soil surace, implying hawhere he soil is conaminaed, he

groundwaer will also be conaminaed.

Groundwaer in he Neherlands is he main

supply o drinking waer, ogeher wih

waer rom he rivers. Surace waer is also

direcly used or crop irrigaion and

drinking waer or catle, and serves an

imporan ecological and recreaional role.

To some exen he conaminaion o

groundwaer and surace waer poses a

bigger hrea o human healh han soil

conaminaion. The risk o direc conac

wih conaminans, eiher hrough skin

conac or ingesion, is much greaer or

waer han or soil. Alhough he concenra-

ions in waer are ar less han in soil, his

highlighs he imporance o proecing he

groundwaer and surace waer qualiy.

Soil qualiy is ofen defined in erms o he

concenraions o chemical subsances like

heavy meals, mineral oil and PAHs. And

depending on he solubiliy, hese sub-

sances also govern he groundwaer and

surace waer qualiy. In addiion o hese

subsances, nuriens are o specific

relevance o groundwaer and surace waer

qualiy.

For example in he souhern par o he

Neherlands, inensive catle breeding on

sandy soils has resuled in exensive

nirificaion o he groundwaer. An

overload o nuriens in he surace waer

causes europhicaion. Algae can make he

surace waer less atracive or recreaional

purposes, and some algae even pose a direcrisk o human healh. Consequenly,

measures have been aken o diminish he

release o nuriens ino groundwaer and

surace waer.

Being a dela area, sedimens are deposied


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| Rijkswaterstaat50

in he Neherlands. In order o allow a

sufficien waer flow, hese sedimens need

o be dredged on a regular basis. Subsances

dissolved in he surace waer will ofen end

up in he sedimens. Where surace waer

serves o drain he surrounding land,seepage o groundwaer will also influence

he sedimen qualiy, which ofen alls shor

o he desired level.

However, as long as he qualiy o he

sedimens are comparable o he qualiy o

he soil on he adjacen land, he dredged

sedimens can be disribued here. This is

imporan as he sedimen hen conribues

o elevaing he land ha would oherwise

sink slowly below he waer level o he

polder. Would i no be possible o use he

sedimens on he adjacen land, he waer

level o he polder would need o be

adjused downwards. In pea areas, he soils

would hen coninue o setle, resuling

again in he need or urher adjusmen ohe waer level. Ulimaely, ha would cause

severe problems wih he inrasrucure and

buildings in he polder.


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Technical guidelines


54/81


Technical guidelines

In he pas, prior o he Soil Qualiy Decree,

he aims or he soil were prety much

defined by he naional governmen. Since

he early 1980s, he predominanly

pioneering naure o soil remediaion

business has changed ino a proessionalsecor. Wih he developmen o he Soil

Qualiy Decree his proessionalism has

been acknowledged. The main responsibil-

iy or mainaining soil qualiy shifed rom

naional governmen o he municipal

auhoriies. A he same ime, he develop-

men and mainenance o echnical

guidelines are now primarily a responsibil-

iy o he organisaions ha acually use

hese echnical guidelines. As such, he role

o he consulans who operae in his field

has become more dominan.

Consulans help he communiies o

develop heir Soil Ambiion (see he chaper

Soil uncions and ambiions) and ake

care o he developmen and mainenance

o he sandards and proocols necessary o

perorm he work. In developing hesedocumens, he consulans generically

define he qualiy ha should be realised. A

he same ime, heir day-o-day perorm-

ance has o comply wih he qualiy

demands o hese documens.

Obviously, he echnical definiion o he

aspired qualiy is no he ask o a single

consulan. Here he modus operandi o he

Neherlands Sandardisaion Insiue (NEN)

seps in. This implies ha he developmen

o sandards, proocols and guidelines is a

process ha involves all paries concerned:

he legislaor, he regulaor, provinces,

waer auhoriies, municipaliies, indusry,

consulancy firms, environmenal labora-

ories and ohers.

A large se o sandards, proocols andguidelines is available or defining he

echnical qualiy o he work. Almos all he

seps o he process are ormalised by hese

documens, or which here are hree main

caegories:

1. guidelines published by or on behal o

he naional governmen;

2. sandards published by he Neherlands

Sandardisaion Insiue (NEN);

3. cerificaion and accrediaion schemes

published by he Foundaion

Inrasrucure or Qualiy Assurance o

Soil Managemen (SIKB).

Apar rom naional developmens, he

N h l d S d di i I i l


55/81

| Rijkswaterstaat54

Neherlands Sandardisaion Insiue also

operaes specifically a an inernaional

level, parly wihin he European Commitee

or Sandardisaion (CEN) and parly wihin

he Inernaional Organisaion or

Sandardisaion (ISO). On boh levels aTechnical Commitee deals wih he

developmen o sandards or soil characer-

isaion. Boh commitees, CEN/TC 345 and

ISO/TC 190, are chaired by he Neherlands.

ISO/TC 190 has published some 160

sandards, covering erminology, codifica-

ion, sampling, chemical, biological and

physical mehods as well as soil and sieassessmen. These sandards are available

or worldwide use hrough he naional

sandards insiues.


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| Rijkswaterstaat56

Risk assessment


58/81


Risk assessment

Human exposure modelling is he basis o

human healh risk assessmen in many

counries. Two human exposure models

have been developed in he Neherlands.

The CSOIL model deermines exposure o

conaminaed erresrial soils, while heSEDISOIL model deermines exposure o

conaminaed sedimens. These models

recognise hree elemens:

conaminan disribuion over he soil or

sedimen phases;

conaminan ranser rom (he differen

phases o ) he soil and sedimen ino

so-called conac media;

direc and indirec exposure o humans.

A human exposure calculaion combined

wih oxicological reerence values resuls in

he risk characerisaion, ha is, he risk

appraisal o he conaminaed sie. I is

imporan o define he imerame or which

he risk assessmen is applicable, since

acors ha influence human healh risks will

change over ime. Moreover, calculaed

exposure and criical exposure (oxicologicalreerence value) should be consisen wih

regard o he duraion and oxicologically

relevan exposure period in he lieime o

he exposed populaion. Equaions or all

relevan exposure pahways have been

included in he CSOIL exposure model. The

main exposure pahways are:

exposure hrough soil ingesion afer

hand - mouh conac (mainly relevan or

immobile conaminans);

exposure hrough crop consumpion

(mainly relevan or mobile

conaminans);

exposure hrough inhalaion o indoor

air (mainly relevan or volaile

conaminans).

Addiionally, exposure hrough he

inhalaion o soil paricles, dermal upake

via soil maerial, groundwaer consumpionand inhalaion o air during showering may

in specific siuaions conribue o he

exposure o paricular conaminans.

Exposure hrough soil ingesion is

calculaed according o soil ingesion inake

raes or children and aduls. For sie-

specific applicaions, he acual bioavailab-

iliy in he human body is deermined in he

Neherlands using he in-viro IVD model or

he Unified Barge Model. Plan-soil

concenraion relaionships are used or

assessing exposure hrough crop consump-

ion. For sie-specific applicaions a

our-iered approach is used, including

based on acual risks o human healh, he

soil ecosysem and ood saey as well as risks

sie-specific assessmen o ecological risks on

he basis o hree lines o evidence: soil


59/81


our iered approach is used, including

calculaions o he accumulaion o

conaminans in vegeables and a measure-

men proocol. The VOLASOIL model has

been developed o assess he risk hrough

vapour inrusion in case o soil or ground-waer conaminaion wih volaile conamin-

ans. This model enables he sie-specific

indoor air concenraion o be indicaively

assessed as a uncion o ype and posiion-

ing o he conaminans, building and soil

characerisics, and groundwaer deph.

The SEDISOIL exposure model includes he

relevan exposure pahways or sedimenssuch as exposure hrough fish consumpion,

dermal upake when swimming and he

ingesion o waer and pariculae mater

during swimming.

By law, he web-based Sanscri decision

suppor sysem is used in he Neherlands o

decide on he urgency o remediaion. The

Risk Toolbox (RTB) is available o develop

susainable soil qualiy objecives in case o

slighly conaminaed soil. Boh insrumens

suppor sie-specific risk-based decisions and

risk-based land managemen. Decisions are

soil ecosysem and ood saey as well as risks

arising rom conaminan ranspor. For each

o he proecion arges a iered approach is

ollowed. In each progressive ier he

assessmen becomes less conservaive, is

based on more sie-specific inormaion and,hence, is more complex, ime-consuming

and ofen more expensive. When unaccep-

able risks in a specific ier canno be

excluded, an assessmen in he ollowing ier

has o be perormed. The underlying

principle is: simple when possible and

complex when necessary.

The human healh risk assessmen module inboh decision suppor sysems is based on

he CSOIL exposure model. I is generally

recognised ha sie-specific risk assessmen

requires an inelligen combinaion beween

exposure calculaions and measuremens in

conac media. Thereore, his module offers

he possibiliy or measuremens in conac

media like indoor air, vegeables and indoor

dus. In specific cases, he possibiliy o

biomonioring exiss, e.g. measuring lead in

blood or arsenic in oe nails.

Soil ecosysem risks are derived using he

iered TRIAD approach ha enables he

he basis o hree lines o evidence: soil

chemisry, oxiciy and ecology. The our-ier

approach o assess he risks due o conamin-

an ranspor in groundwaer is as ollows:

Tier 0 is a qualiaive analyses o possible risk

due o groundwaer ranspor. Tier 1 involvesa simple generic conaminan ranspor

calculaion based on a conservaive scenario.

In Tier 2, a more complex sie-specific

calculaion is perormed. Finally, in Tier 3,

monioring aciviies can be perormed and

complex numerical models can be used.

Furhermore, leaching is aken ino accoun

in his ier, and special atenion is given o

Toal Peroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH), arequenly occurring conaminan in

groundwaer.

Distribution over soil fractions

representativeSOIL CONTENT

Contaminated sites that needUrgent remediation, 2013Total number of sites: 1643


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chemistry

toxicity ecology

risk

The TRIAD approach for scienifically based and efficien sie-specific ecological risk assessmen

Transfer processes

Indirect exposure

ingestion, inhalationdermal uptakeSOIL

intake DRINKINGWATER, dermal

contact, inhalationSHOWERING

uptake by /deposition onVEGETATION

consumptionofVEGETATION

Direct exposure

SOIL AIRconcentration

transport toSURFACESOIL

dilution inINDOOR and

OUTDOOR AIR

inhalation, dermaluptake AIR

PORE WATERconcentration

transport toGROUNDWATER

transport toDRINKING WATER

permeation intoDRINKINGWATER

CSOIL model to quantifyexposure to contaminated terrestrial soils

9%

8%

21%

70%

2%8%

Human health risks only

Total number of sites: 1643

Combination of human health risks and risks fromcontaminant transport in groundwater

Combination of human health risksand ecological risks

Combination of human health risks, transportin groundwater and ecological risks

Risks from contaminant transportin groundwater only

Combination of transport of contaminantsin groundwater and ecological risks

Ecological risks only


61/81

| Rijkswaterstaat60

The Dutch soil quality standards


62/81


Reerence has been made earlier in his

bookle o he ac ha Duch soil qualiy

sandards have been developed over he

years in a number o sages (see he chaper

Developing a soil policy).

The firs se o soil qualiy sandards or soiland groundwaer, published in 1983 as par

o he Inerim Soil Remediaion Ac, were

he A, B and C values or soil and ground-

waer. Concenraions below he A value

implied ha here was no soil conamina-

ion. Exceeding he C value (serious soil

conaminaion) implied ha remediaion

was necessary. The B value was he rigger

or a Main Invesigaion: i suggesed ha i

concenraions above he B value were

ound, serious soil conaminaion migh be

presen. The A, B and C values were defined

or a lis o subsances ha were hough o

be o relevance wih respec o he occur-

rence o soil conaminaion and, o some

exen, his mirrors he conaminaed sies

encounered a ha ime in he

Neherlands. The A values relaed o he

background concenraion, while he Cvalues were primarily derived based on

exper judgmen.

In 1994, hese hree values were replaced by

a se o wo values, he Targe value and

Inervenion value or soil and groundwa-

er. The Targe value had a similar uncion

as he A value. The role o he Inervenion

value was comparable o he C value:

exceeding means a serious soil conamina-

ion, or which remediaion is necessary.

However, exceeding he Inervenion value

does no imply an immediae remediaion.

I mean ha he urgency o remediaion

has o be deermined. In pracice, remedi-

aion akes place or urgen cases o soil

remediaion, in paricular cases ha are

urgen on he basis o human healh risks.

Oher sies wih serious soil conaminaiongenerally can be remediaed a a convenien

momen in ime, or example, when

building aciviies or oher soil-relaed

aciviies ake place a he sie.

A major difference was he scienific basis o

he Targe and Inervenion values; hey

were derived applying risk assessmen. The

Targe values are based on ecological risks

and background concenraions and he

Inervenion values are based on human

healh and ecological risks. Alhough here

was no longer a ormal inermediae (B)

value, in pracice such an inermediae value

q y

was sill used o deermine he need or a

Main Invesigaion. For his, he average o

logical componen o he Inervenion value

is missing.

were inroduced ha define wheher

slighly conaminaed soil is fi or a specific


63/81

62

Targe and Inervenion value was used.

Moreover, a volume crierion was inro-

duced in 1994. I implied ha a single excess

o he Inervenion value in one soil sampleis no sufficien o declare conaminaion o

be serious. This requires a volume o a leas

25 m3or soil or 100 m3or waer-sauraed

soil volume or groundwaer exceeding he

Inervenion value.

As menioned earlier, by now he Targe

values have been replaced by he

Background values derived rom he naionwide sudy o he background concenra-

ions or 252 subsances. The number is he

resul o he sum o all individually lised

subsances and he subsances ha are par

o a lised sum parameer. An example is he

lised sum-PAHs (Polycyclic Aromaic

Hydrocarbons), or which 10 specific PAHs

compounds need o be analysed.

The lis includes so-called indicaive levels

o serious risk or 32 subsances, as

alernaive or an Inervenion value, or

which a sandardised measuremen or

analysis proocol is lacking or he ecooxico-

The risk-based Inervenion values were

revised a several sages; he laes revision

is rom 2013. In 2008, an Inervenion value

or asbesos has been included in he lis,solely based on human healh risks. I is

obvious ha he exposure o asbesos in soil

is quie differen compared o oher

subsances since he inhalaion o asbesos

fibres is he only relevan exposure pahway.

Thereore, an alernaive procedure was

ollowed, using measured concenraions in

soil and air a differen aciviies and soil

and weaher condiions. Moreover,differences in carcinogenic poenial

beween differen ypes o asbesos were

aken ino accoun.

The publicaion o he Soil Qualiy Decree in

2008 resuled in a drasic change in soil

qualiy assessmen. The perspecive o he

new decree is differen rom he pas as

(re)use o slighly conaminaed soil became

an imporan objecive. Inervenion values

are sill used o define wheher remediaion

is necessary. Bu hrough he Soil Qualiy

Decree wo addiional soil qualiy sandards

land use. These soil qualiy sandards, called

Maximal values or residenial land use and

Maximal values or indusrial land use,

relae he accepable qualiy o he soil o is

uncion. The Maximal values, which areavailable or soil only (no or groundwa-

er), have been derived based on human

healh risks, ecological risks and risks or

agriculural producion.

Maximal values have been published or 101

subsances in he Duch soil qualiy

regulaion (laes version 2012).

The Background values now in place werederived rom he sudy o naional back-

ground concenraions in he Neherlands

(see he chaper Knowing he soil qualiy).

In principle, he Background values were se

a he 95 percenile o he disribuion o

background concenraions in he op soil

in relaively undisurbed areas. For

subsances or which he Background

concenraions were lower han he

analyical deecion limi, he Background

values were se equal o he deecion limi.

This is applicable or a large group o

organic subsances.

| Rijkswaterstaat

Back

ground

valu

e

Residence

Industry

Inte

rvention

valu

e


64/81


Sustainable land management Site remediation

Contaminant concentration

Nature and agriculture Residential areas Industrial areas Remediation

Soil qualiy sandards expressed for he sandard soil in mg/kg dry mater for he sandard se of subsances.

Substance ) Background value

Maximum value

for residential

land use

Maximum value

function class

Industry Intervention value )

barium - - - - )

cadmium . . .

cobalt

copper

mercury . . . / )

lead

molybdenum .

nickel

zinc

sum-PCBs . . .

sum-PAHs . .

mineral oil

Illusraive overview of he Duch Soil Qualiy Sandards

1. In addiion o he concenraion o hese

subsances, he percenage o clay andorganic mater should be deermined.

2. Inervenion values as included in he

Duch Soil Proecion Ac.

3. The values or barium have been wihdrawn

as he inervenion value is lower han he

naural occurring concenraions. When

here is a higher value han he background

value, caused by an anropogenic source,

hen he compeen auhoriy can assess

his value using he ormer inervenion

value o 625 mg/kg d.m.

4. For inorganic and organic mercury

respecively.

As menioned earlier, some major

differences are ound among he soil

i h il i h


65/81

| Rijkswaterstaat64

properies o he op soil in he

Neherlands. There are large differences in

he racion o clay beween sand and clay

soils as well as in he organic mater conen

o, or example, pea and sand. Boh hefine racion and he organic mater srongly

influence he availabiliy o subsances in

soil. To accoun or hese differences, he

soil qualiy sandards are normalized

according o wha is called he sandard

soil wih an organic mater conen o 10%

and 25% clay, using pracical soil properies

conversion equaions.


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67/81


Investigating the soil quality


68/81


Prior o invesigaing he soil qualiy o a

sie, i is imporan o ideniy he moive

or he invesigaion. Differen moives are

possible and migh rigger an invesigaion.

Obvious moives or an invesigaion are

presen or pas aciviies on he sie hahave a srong likelihood o causing soil

conaminaion. (Re)developmen or

residenial purposes also riggers an

invesigaion in he Neherlands o preven

building on a seriously conaminaed sie.

Ye anoher reason could be a propery

ransacion beween wo (privae) paries,

whereby he poenial new owner wans o

exclude he risk o acquiring a conaminaedsie. A logical decision since Duch law

prescribes ha he new owner will be liable

or he remediaion coss in he even o

conaminaion.

Knowing why he sie requires invesigaion

already provides imporan clues o he kind

o soil invesigaion ha is necessary.

Soil invesigaion always sars wih a

Preliminary Invesigaion. I consiss o adesk sudy and a sie inspecion. The

purpose o he Preliminary Invesigaion is

o esablish wheher he sie migh be

conaminaed on he basis o hisorical

inormaion: pas and presen aciviies on

he sie as well as he sies geological and

hydrological siuaion. Obviously, i he sie

has a long hisory, i migh prove very hard

or even impossible o obain all he relevaninormaion, a ac ha should be aken

ino consideraion when defining he

invesigaion sraegy.

Based on he obained inormaion a

concepual model o he sies conamina-

ion siuaion is defined. For his a limied

number o basic assumpions wih respec

o he poenial conaminaion is used. I

conaminaion is expeced, he spaialdisribuion over he sie is eiher homo-

geneous or heerogeneous.

I a homogeneous disribuion is expeced,

he suspeced deph will be idenified. For

simple siuaions, he conaminaion level

will be more or less sable over he

conaminaed surace. However, even

significan variaion in conaminaion levels

can occur. The homogeneous characer insuch a siuaion is he expeced consan

level o variabiliy. For example, a sies

where he soil plain has been elevaed in he

pas using old harbour sludge, he concen-

g g q y

raions can vary significanly rom poin o

poin ye he conaminaion level o he

whole layer sill appears o be predicable

assumpions o he concepual sie model.

This underlines he imporance o he

assumpions ha are he basis or he

Where conaminaion had been expeced

and acually ound, here will be a need or

urher delineaion o ha conaminaion


69/81

| Rijkswaterstaat68

whole layer sill appears o be predicable.

A heerogeneous disribuion can be

expeced as a resul o some kind o spillage

in he pas. Depending on how long he sie

has been in use, and how many differenaciviies have been perormed, he posiion

o he resuling ho spos may be known or

no.

All hese assumpions ogeher resul in a

firs version o he concepual sie model.

The imporance o his invesigaion phase

is widely acceped, as all subsequen

invesigaions will, in principle, be based onhese resuls. Consequenly, a sufficien

amoun o effor (and hus money) should

be spen on he Preliminary Invesigaion.

The concepual sie model obained

provides he inpu or wha needs o be

done in erms o sie invesigaion in he

nex phase, he Exploraory Invesigaion.

During he Exploraory Invesigaion he firs

acual sampling occurs, is main purposebeing o check wheher he assumpions o

he concepual sie model are correc. I is a

limied, cos-effecive sampling exercise

wherein he sampling sraegy is linked o

assumpions ha are he basis or he

concepual sie model. During he

Exploraory Invesigaion o a heerogeneous

conaminaion a a known posiion, he

sampling will ocus on ha posiion only. Ihe inormaion on he posiion is incorrec,

he conaminaion may be missed.

Once he samples have been aken and he

analyical resuls are available, i is up o he

consulan o redefine he concepual sie

model. Inormaion rom he Exploraory

Invesigaion is added o ha o he

Preliminary Invesigaion o generae asomewha more deailed concepual sie

model.

The resul o he Exploraory Invesigaion

will deermine i addiional sampling is

necessary. Where no conaminaion had

been expeced, and i, indeed, no conamina-

ion has been ound, here will be no reason

or urher invesigaions. Again, his sresses

he imporance o well-ounded assumpionsobained rom a horough Preliminary

Invesigaion. I, despie he assumpions,

conaminaion is ound, urher inves-

igaion o he sie will be required.

urher delineaion o ha conaminaion

in he Main Invesigaion.

To assess he risks o he conaminaion,

apar rom knowledge o he conaminaionisel, inormaion mus also be gahered

abou he geological and hydrological

siuaion. This knowledge will also prove

essenial when remediaion will be

necessary.

In he Main Invesigaion he concepual

sie model needs o be redefined unil

sufficien knowledge o he conaminaionsiuaion is obained. Sufficien knowledge

will depend, amongs ohers, on he spaial

disribuion o he conaminans, he (geo)

hydrology, he remediaion mehod applied

as well as he uure use o he sie. Given

hese variable boundary condiions, i is less

simple o provide angible insrucions or

he Main Invesigaion. I also implies ha

he Main Invesigaion, cerainly in morecomplex siuaions, canno be perormed in

a single phase. Afer each phase i mus be

judged i he concepual sie model is

sufficienly defined in ligh o he conam-

inaion, he associaed risks and is

poenial uure remediaion.

Preliminary Investigation

contaminationsuspected?

yes no


70/81


I more han 25 m3soil or 100 m3groundwa-

er appears o be pollued above he

Inervenion value, i is reerred o as

serious soil polluion. This means ha heuncional properies o he soil or

humans, plans or animals migh be

seriously impaired. Thereore, i mus be

invesigaed wheher he risks o humans

and/or he environmen are accepable or

no. The sie-specific risks will deermine

into dutch soils

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