Green Remediation Focus

Best Management Practices

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) series of green remediation fact sheets describes the concepts and tools for using best management practices (BMPs) to reduce the environmental footprint of activities associated with assessing and remediating contaminated sites. The BMPs involve specific activities to address the core elements of greener cleanups:

• Reduce total energy use and increase the percentage of energy from renewable resources.
• Reduce air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions.
• Reduce water use and preserve water quality.
• Conserve material resources and reduce waste.
• Protect land and ecosystem services.

Each BMP fact sheet focuses on site remediation technologies that are frequently implemented, activities common to most site cleanup projects, or site types with relatively unique sets of conditions:

• Excavation and Surface Restoration (5 pp, 286K)
• Site Investigation and Environmental Monitoring (4 pp, 179K)
• Pump and Treat Systems (6 pp, 225K)
• Bioremediation (4 pp, 493K)
• Soil Vapor Extraction & Other Air-Driven Systems (4 pp, 457K)
• Cleaner Fuels & Air Emissions for Site Cleanups (5 pp, 425K)
• Integrating Renewable Energy (6 pp, 840K)
• Sites with Leaking Underground Storage Tanks (4 pp, 216K)
• Waste Cover Systems and Integrated Site Reuse Planning (5 pp, 641K)
• Mining Sites (PDF) (6 pp, 535K)
• Implementing In Situ Thermal Technologies (6 pp, 249K)
• Materials and Waste Management (4pp, 397K)

An Overview (2 pp, 525K) briefly summarizes the underlying Principles for Greener Cleanups, explains relevant cleanup programs and stages in which the BMPs may be applied, and describes key tools for understanding a cleanup project's environmental footprint and prioritizing BMPs to minimize the footprint.