Period: January 2020 to May 2020
Client: World Bank
Involved TAUW Consultants
Guido van de Coterlet
Ilona van der Kroef
John van Tol
Marcel Vrijenhoek
Boudewijn van Ardenne
The World Bank and the Government of Kosovo (GOK) initiated the Greening Land project in Kosovo. The tasks related to this project were:
The KEK (Kosovo Energetic Corporation) overburden dump and infilled mine gallery site was the first showcase site of the project on how contaminated land should be managed compliant with international good practices on sustainable risk-based land management.
The KEK site comprises a 100-hectare infilled mine area and an overburden dumpsite consisting of deposits removed for open-cast access to lignite, located between the municipalities of Obiliq, Fush Kosova and Pristina. The topography of the overburden consisted of numerous hillocks. The infilled mine galleries were used for the disposal of tar from gasification of lignite. South of the overburden, a leachate pond and waste dump were present. In addition, it was expected that the ash was atmospherically deposited as a result of the neighboring ash dump. The overall aim was to develop the site into a city park.
The following services were completed:
TAUW needed to significantly expedite project procedures beyond regular timelines, as a park design of the overburden dumpsite needed to be ready within 4 months of project inception. This optimization of the planning was successfully done in close consultation with KEK, GOK, and the World Bank.
Together with the subcontractors DEKONS-EMA (North Macedonia), La Orizont (Romania), and Environmental Consulting Team (Kosovo), the project was completed to its full satisfaction, within the agreed budgets and within the agreed time frame. Fieldwork was completed by Instituti “Inkos” (Kosovo) under the supervision of TAUW. The project team was under direct supervision of TAUW, always ensuring the desired quality.
To collect sufficient information on the site for a safe and sustainable site redevelopment approach, TAUW applied a time-efficient and cost-effective approach consisting of:
A maximum slope of 6 degrees is preferred at overburden stockpiles to reduce erosion. The high-resolution DEM was used to determine areas where recontouring was needed and to determine volumes of overburden to be relocated. TAUW’s Enterprise Geographic Information System (TEGSIS®) was used to rapidly assess the contamination situation in both soil and groundwater and to develop a holistic spatial database of the site.
Based on the geographical information of the site, a remediation plan and park were designed. The proposed solution integrates nature-based solutions for site remediation such as phytoremediation and phytocontainment into a liveable and usable public park, Ultimately the park will not only prevent exposure to contamination but will allow for much broader social benefits and can mitigate extreme climate changed influenced weather events such as heat stress and flash flooding. The concept can be replicated at similar mine tailing and waste dumpsites.
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