Green Remediation Focus

Engineering Issue Paper: Sustainable Materials Management in Site Cleanup

Wed, 1 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Sites undergoing cleanup provide many opportunities for reducing waste and diverting it from landfills. Many of the opportunities involve reusing onsite materials, reusing or recycling materials offsite, and procuring construction materials with recycled content. Site-specific examples of applying these and other strategies and an extensive compendium of related tools and resources are now available in Sustainable Materials Management in Site Cleanup (EPA 542-F-13-001), an issue paper compiled by the Engineering Forum of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Technical Support Project.

New Technical Report: Waste Not, Want Not: Analyzing the Economic and Environmental Viability of Waste-to-Energy Technology for Site-Specific Optimization of Renewable Energy Options

Wed, 1 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Remediation at many sites across the United States involves waste from aging municipal landfills. Use of waste-to-energy technology can offer a means to generate renewable energy that could be used to power ongoing or future onsite activities or to supplement a local electricity grid. A new technical report from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Waste Not, Want Not: Analyzing the Economic and Environmental Viability of Waste-to-Energy (WTE) Technology for Site-Specific Optimization of Renewable Energy Options (NREL/TP-6A50-52829), provides an overview of WTE technology and describes a high-level model to assess site-specific feasibility of applying WTE technology. The model uses simple user inputs, geographic information system (GIS)-based waste resource data, available incentives, and financial parameters to estimate implementation cost, operations costs, and life-cycle cost.

Upcoming Training: Best Management Practices for Site Assessment, Remediation, and Greener Cleanups

Wed, 1 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation is holding national training on Best Management Practices for Site Assessment, Remediation, and Greener Cleanups. The next opportunity to participate in this half-day training course is on May 15, 2013, in conjunction with the May 15-17 Brownfields 2013 conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The course presents recent developments in science, technology, and practitioner experience for site assessment, remediation, and greener cleanups. Participants will learn how best management practices can be used to significantly reduce data collection costs, expedite project schedules, enhance stakeholder communication, and improve project and site decision quality. This training venue is focused toward Brownfields grant recipients and parties directly involved in managing or executing site assessment and cleanup projects. EPA, federal, tribal, state, and private-industry technical project managers and stakeholders involved in development and implementation of hazardous waste site cleanups can also benefit from participation. The course is offered at no cost to Brownfields 2013 conference registrants.

Upcoming Webinar: NARPM Presents...Practical Applications and Methods of Optimization Across the Superfund Pipeline (Part 2)

Wed, 1 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation offers a new web seminar, NARPM Presents...Practical Applications and Methods of Optimization Across the Superfund Pipeline, on May 8, 2013. As a continuation of one introduced on April 30, 2013, this seminar will focus on EPA's National Strategy to Expand Superfund Optimization Practices from Remedial Investigation to Site Completion. The seminar will present case studies of completed optimization evaluations for three sites: (1) Black Butte Mine in Lane County, Oregon; (2) the Grants Chlorinated Solvents Superfund site in Grants, New Mexico; and (3) Gilt Edge Mine in Lawrence County, South Dakota.

Upcoming Webinar: EPA's Methodology for Understanding and Reducing a Project's Environmental Footprint

Wed, 1 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

The process of cleaning up a hazardous waste site uses energy, water, and other natural or materials resources and consequently creates an environmental footprint of its own. In February 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released its Methodology for Understanding and Reducing a Project's Environmental Footprint. Information gained through application of the methodology helps prioritize efforts to reduce the footprint and improve the outcome of cleanups under any regulatory program. On May 22, 2013, a two-hour CLU-IN webinar addressing the methodology will: (1) briefly discuss the associated regulatory framework; (2) summarize the approach to estimating or quantifying the footprint and associated metrics; (3) walk participants through the steps of performing an environmental footprint analysis; and (4) present questions for discussion and share lessons learned from early adopters of the methodology.