Environmental

The sustainability of mineral exploitation is a major consideration for today’s mineral operators. GWP provide a suite of services to the construction and extractive industries to assist with mitigating past environmental degradation, limiting future environmental damage and providing opportunities for environmental enhancement alongside economically viable mineral extraction.

GWP provides advice and support on environmental issues at planning and operational scales throughout the project design and implementation cycle. Inputs range from national planning policy to the preparation of site specific planning applications, Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and permits and licence applications.

Technical inputs relate to a wide range of issues important for the sustainable development of mineral and water resources, including:

Surface water: Flood risk assessment, surface water management, treatment and discharge compliance).
Groundwater: Water supplies, dewatering impact assessments, groundwater contamination and remediation, groundwater level and quality monitoring and analysis.
Blast monitoring: Blast vibration and air overpressure monitoring, (compliance monitoring for planning conditions and to reduce environmental impacts on neighbours and analysis to optimise blasting practice).
Waste management: Extraction and mineral process waste storage and management.
Design for quarry restoration and after-use: Landform replication, design for new or enhanced habitats, surface water attenuation and flood alleviation, sustainable recreational and built development.
Research: New and innovative approaches to quarry design, slope engineering and management of water for environmental enhancement

Notable projects

Design and implementation of an environmental monitoring scheme at a limestone quarry, to comply with planning and licence conditions. This included responsibility for all environmental monitoring, including groundwater and surface water monitoring,
dust monitoring, noise surveys and blast vibration and air overpressure monitoring.
Re-design of a limestone quarry in Croatia to mitigate a range of environmental impacts, including visual/landscape impacts and noise, dust and vibration impacts.

Investigation and modelling of chrome contamination in chalk arising from the unregulated tipping of cement kiln bricks at a site in central Europe. Also design and implementation of remedial engineering works.
Contributions and co-ordination of numerous environmental impact assessments, undertaken as part of planning applications; due diligence studies for proposed quarries, open pit mines and sand/gravel extractions.
Design of environmental mitigation measures at many extractive sites in the UK, including newt ponds and newt fences, blast designs to minimise vibration, secure screening mounds and backfill and surface water management facilities.

Environmental

Notable projects

Capability Statements

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