Below the Surface

What makes a good regulator? Gunnar and Hammond are joined for the second time by Jason Scarborough , former NSW EPA officer and founder of JS Regulatory Services and Echidna , to talk about how regulation should actually work. They discuss behaviour change, regulatory transparency, poorly designed KPIs, explain the term "regulatory capture", the “fit and proper person” test and why vagu...

What makes something worth keeping, and who gets to decide? In this episode of our The Basics Series, Gunnar and Hammond talk with heritage specialist Dr MacLaren North . They cover what heritage actually means, the differences between built, archaeological and Aboriginal cultural heritage, how heritage significance is assessed, and why the process can sometimes be surprisingly subjective. They al...

Who keeps environmental professionals honest, and what happens when they get it wrong? Gunnar and James open with a deceptively simple question: would you take a guaranteed $50,000 or risk it on a coin toss for $1 million? Their answers lead to a revealing conversation about risk, certainty, running a business and how personal circumstances shape financial decisions. Then the episode switches to n...

What does a career in the environmental industry actually look like, and how do you know when it is time for a change? That change can range from minor adjustment in your life and your expectations and goals to a big one like changing jobs or even careers altogether. Gunnar and Hammond are joined by career coach Kellie Guenther to discuss career pathways, professional development, leadership, ment...

Disclaimers in our reports. Useless fluff or necessary ass covering?  Who better to discuss this than Sarah Mansfield ( LinkedIn ) who is returning to Below the Surface and almost immediately raises the bar for all future lawyer and engineer jokes. Sarah, Gunnar and Hammond tackle P&O cruise insults, ALGA glory, puppies, and why a useful “How to Read This Report” section may be better than hid...

In Episode #30 The Duplicate , Gunnar famously declared that duplicate soil samples in heterogeneous fill are useless. Risk assessor Belle Casement of Terravale Consulting heard the episode… and decided Gunnar needed correcting. 😲 In this nerd-out episode, they discuss QA/QC, dodgy duplicates, lab uncertainty, conservative risk assessments, and whether the typical QC sections in contaminated land...

Hammond relives his time as a representative for Australia in international biodiversity negotiations at COP13 of the Convention on Biological Diversity . But before that a few updates, a hint for auditors and Gunnar almost completely loses it while talking about one of the latest EPA announcements leading to a most epic Gu-rant. Links: Clarence Coal mine penalty Constitutional heads of power . &a...

Microplastics: The Invisible Problem (or is it?) Brooke Kelly from Reditus joins Gunnar and James to unpack microplastics. From penguin carcasses and seal scat (that's science code for poo) to human exposure, they explore where microplastics come from, how they are measured, and why they are everywhere. There is a lot of hype surrounding microplastics and some evidence of ecological harm exis...

Artificial intelligence has gone from curiosity to daily tool almost overnight.  In this episode, Gunnar and James sit down with AI consultant Alex Rankin who spent over 25 years in senior roles across the Australian Public Service before turning her focus to helping environmental consultancies figure out where AI actually fits into their workflows. Together they cut through the hype and talk abou...

If you've ever stared at a lab result that exceeds your NEPM HIL and wondered "okay, but what does this actually mean?". This one's for you. Gunnar and James sit down with Dr Kylie Dodd , environmental toxicologist and risk assessor at GHD, to get into the science behind the numbers that so many of us lean on without fully understanding where they come from. Kylie has a great w...

A deeper dive into Acid Sulfate Soils. In a slightly QLD centric episode, Gunnar and James are joined by all three main authors of the QLD ASS Management Guidelines , widely regarded as the best ASS guidelines in the world.  Sue-Ellen Dear is a Senior Land Resource Officer with the QLD Department of Natural Resources and Mines and has contributed to acid sulfate soil policy and guidance since 1996...

How much of any given contaminant is actually taken up into human bodies? If we think about it, that is one of the single most important things to consider as an environmental consultant when reporting on a site's contamination status, yet it is not something that is very often done. Gunnar and James are yet again soaring with an industry eagle as they set out to get better at that very aspec...

The 2025 Year in Review (That Wasn’t Supposed to Happen) What started as a neat 15-minute intro quietly turned into a full end-of-year wrap-up. Classic Below the Surface. Gunnar and James get side-tracked almost immediately and eventually realise they have recorded the accidental 2025 BTS year in review. They cover listener feedback, behind-the-scenes stats, favourite episodes and a special mentio...

What it's really like to be regulated? Regulators, take note - this one’s for you. We are shining the light on the third corner of the Regulator – Consultant – Client relationship: the Client .  What’s it really like to be on the receiving end of regulation? Do operators of licensed facilities feel supported … or just scrutinised? Are those hefty licence fees worth it? And is there a fair pla...

The NSW Health PFAS Advice includes quite some statements: “The health effects of PFAS appear to be small.”  “… there was definite evidence of increased psychological distress in … exposed communities, evidence for other adverse health outcomes from this study was limited.”  “Interventions that reduce blood PFAS are of uncertain benefit and may cause harm.” These comments seem at odds with much of...

Gunnar (without James this time) gives it a go to get to the bottom of the very basics of what we need to think of around stormwater on a site. There are few better suited to talk about the subject than our guest Mircea Stancu , the founder of Cleanstormwater .  Mircea is a civil engineer, software engineer and, you guessed it, an expert in anything related to stormwater. He is also quite a flambo...

James K (James Karagiannis) has personally completed a stack of waste classifications. And in addition, he has reviewed somewhere between 1,000 and 1,200 reports written by other consultants for our clients. That gives him a rare, panoramic view of what great looks like … and what misses the mark. Gunnar and Hammond, James Hammond, sit down with him to unpack what he sees when reviewing these repo...

Tony Chappel , the CEO of the NSW EPA, is our guest today, so we are definitely back with a bang after the summer holidays.  Gunnar and James are (surprisingly!) well-prepared and keep the conversation on track as they dive into Tony’s journey to leading the EPA, his early priorities, the role of politics in environmental regulation, and the importance of deep listening in leadership. They explore...

Electric Vehicles are basically half price in Australia right now, thanks to some little-known government incentives. Gunnar and James decided it was the perfect time to talk… tax. Yes, tax. And you thought resource recovery was a boring subject, right? But before you judge, listen to this episodes. Gunnar and James have brought in the big guns: chartered accountant Paul Mills (paulybmills at gmai...

Gunnar claims almost all duplicates we take serve close to no purpose. If you want to know why, have a listen and be entertained and informed at the same time.  The OGs are back together in this episode, and quite an unusual one it is. This times it is James who goes on a few rants, quite to Gunnar's amusement. Of course, Gunnar has a few things to say as well and he will definitively ruffle...

Attention Asbestos in Soils Specialists, there is a new kid in town. The Australian Standard 4964-2004 Method for the qualitative identification of asbestos in bulk samples has been superseded with a new AS 5370.  What's different? What's better, what's worse? Why are we reporting below the detection and below the reporting limit? Is NATA on board with it? What do all those differen...

The Office of Chief Scientist and Engineer (OCSE) has issued recommendations concerning asbestos in waste and soil. Sarah Mansfield , Special Counsel (and environmental law superstar) at Norton Rose Fulbright , breaks down the key points and their legal implications. Given the focus on the PoEO Act and its handling of asbestos, you'd expect at least one of our hosts to go off the rails with a...

Rod Harwood - do we need to say anything else?  There are few who have had more influence on our industry and who have contributed more than Rod. Gunnar had a chat with Rod and while they reminisce about 'the good old days', Rod sprinkles in some anecdotes of his impressive career and shares gems of his incredible knowledge as an engineer and a business man. James was unfortunately unava...

Gunnar and James take a dive into all sorts of events that have happened in the past few weeks. 1 - The EIANZ announces the punishment of a member.  2 - A $30,000 fine issued by a Council 3 - MASSIVE NEWS: The Office of the Chief Scientist and Engineer has released a recommendation to the NSW Government regarding the "Management of asbestos in recovered fines and recovered materials ..."...

The Duty To Report may seem like a peculiar law in our industry, yet it's just another one of the many quirky regulations that shape our environmental consulting world. As such, it was begging to be turned into a podcast episode. In fact, Gunnar and James are even joking about selling movie rights to this one—so send your offers quickly! In this episode, Gunnar and James sit down with Elizabe...