Supporting PPC Permitting for a Scottish WEEE Recycling Facility

Arthian’s Geosciences team delivered a comprehensive SCR in accordance with SEPA guidance, establishing a clear baseline of environmental conditions across the permit boundary and focusing on soil and groundwater quality. The assessment brought together a detailed site reconnaissance survey, a review of historical and current activities – including waste handling operations – and an evaluation of waste inventories to identify Relevant Hazardous Substances (RHS) in line with SEPA requirements and the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED). These insights informed a robust Conceptual Site Model (CSM), enabling the team to identify a reasonable possibility that RHS may have been released to ground and recommend a targeted intrusive investigation of soil and groundwater conditions beneath both the existing site and the proposed permit extension area.

Building on the CSM, Arthian developed a proportionate, risk-based Soil and Groundwater Monitoring Plan (SGMP) tailored to the site and its permit requirements. The plan defined a clear investigation strategy covering borehole installation, soil and groundwater sampling methodologies, and a focused laboratory analysis suite for the identified RHS and associated contaminants of concern. Arthian then submitted the completed SCR and SGMP to SEPA in support of the PPC permit application.

The result was a clear, compliant evidence base that gave the Client confidence in the site’s baseline conditions and aligned with risk-based land contamination management principles. By translating complex environmental requirements into a practical route forward, Arthian helped the Client progress the PPC permitting process with greater clarity and assurance.