incorporating options to minimize the environmental footprints of a cleanup
- Home
- New EPA guidance on evaluating greener cleanup opportunities throughout the CERCLA process
- Updated ASTM Standard Guide for Greener Cleanups available for viewing at no cost through November 30, 2016
- Greener cleanup considerations included in scope of upcoming EPA solicitation for remediation environmental services (SOL-HQ-14-00023)
- Updated EPA fact sheet on green remediation BMPs for site investigation and environmental monitoring
- Planning for use of heavy-duty trucks meeting finalized fuel and emission standards
- Updated FEMP guidelines on acquiring energy-efficient products such as boilers
- New Federal Renewable Energy Certificate Guide to aid RECs procurement
- Integrating Sentinel Landscapes to foster habitat and natural resource conservation at military installations undergoing cleanup
- News archives...
- October 2-6 EPA Region 6 Stormwater Conference in Oklahoma City
- October 5-7 Protecting WaterSmart Innovations 2016 conference in Las Vegas
- More on the calendar...
View the new video on Green Remediation at Lawrence Aviation Site
Cleanup at the Curtis Bay Coast Guard Yard near Baltimore involved a green remediation strategy focused on conserving fuel, reducing air emissions and waste generation, and integrating a green infrastructure for cleanup and ongoing site activities. Environmental footprint reductions achieved through the strategy included reducing diesel fuel consumption by 82,000 gallons, recycling approximately 2,620 tons of concrete, and creating 60,000 square feet of green space.
At the Phoenix-Goodyear Airport Superfund Site in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, the strategy focuses on beneficially reusing treated groundwater. On an annual basis, the groundwater extraction and treatment systems provide more than 240 million gallons of water to the community for irrigation of recreational facilities, approximately 52 million gallons of water for onsite agricultural plots, and additional water to other local users.
A groundwater treatment building for the Lawrence Aviation Industries NPL site in Port Jefferson Station, NY, benefits from geothermal energy and other green building aspects.
Groundwater investigations at the Massachusetts Military Reservation at Cape Cod, MA, included sampling of nearby cranberry bogs to assure protection of ecosystem services.
Wind turbines at the former St. Croix Alumina Plant in St. Croix, VI, drive compressed air into hydraulic skimming pumps used to recover petroleum product for reuse.
Four gradient-driven constructed wetlands populated by cattails or pondweed treat contaminated groundwater at the Apache Nitrogen Products, Inc., NPL site in Benson, AZ.
Treatment of landfill gas collected through 460 gas extraction wells relied on microturbines at the Operating Industries, Inc. Landfill NPL site in Monterey Park, CA.
Use of native plants above the landfill cover at the Barskdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, LA, minimizes maintenance activities while helping to avoid erosion and control stormwater runoff.
Best Management Practice (BMP)
Fact Sheets
- An Overview (PDF) (2 pp, 231K)
- Excavation and Surface Restoration (PDF) (4 pp, 238K)
- Site Investigation and Environmental Monitoring (PDF) (4 pp, 179K) *Update*
- Pump and Treat Technologies (PDF) (8 pp, 225K)
- Bioremediation (PDF) (4 pp, 176K)
- Soil Vapor Extraction & Air Sparging (PDF) (4 pp, 131K)
- Clean Fuel & Emission Technologies for Site Cleanup (PDF) (10 pp, 354K)
- Integrating Renewable Energy into Site Cleanup (PDF) (8 pp, 335K)
- Sites with Leaking Underground Storage Tank Systems (PDF) (6 pp, 448K)
- Landfill Cover Systems & Energy Production (PDF) (6 pp, 465K)
- Overview of EPA's Methodology to Address the Environmental Footprint of Site Cleanup (PDF) (2 pp, 176K)
- Mining Sites (PDF) (6 pp, 535K)
- Implementing In Situ Thermal Technologies (PDF) (6 pp, 249K)
- Materials and Waste Management (PDF) (4pp, 397K)
GR Technology Primer (PDF) (56 pp, 814K):
Incorporating Sustainable Environmental Practices into Remediation of Contaminated Sites
A Citizen's Guide to Greener Cleanups (PDF) (2 pp, 1.4MB)
- EPA Strategic Plan, FY 2014-2018
- ...EPA's hazardous waste programs also are working to reduce the energy use and environmental footprint during the investigation and remediation of hazardous waste sites.
Goal 3: Cleaning Up Communities and Advancing Sustainable Development
- Principles for Greener Cleanups
- Superfund Green Remediation Strategy
- EPA guidance on greener cleanup activities under CERCLA *New*
- EPA regional policies
- State resources
- ASTM Standard Guide for Greener Cleanups *Update*
- EPA announcement of upcoming remediation environmental services solicitation (SOL-HQ-14-00023) *New*
EPA's Methodology for Understanding and Reducing a Project's Environmental Footprint uses 21 metrics and a seven-step process to quantify energy, air, water, and materials & waste comprising the environmental footprint of a remedy. The supporting Spreadsheets for Environmental Footprint Analysis (SEFA) workbooks are available to help users estimate each of the methodology's metrics on a site-specific basis. Related background studies, examples, and data gathering tools offer additional information of value to environmental footprint assessment.
Aligning with National Goals
Learn about executive orders, requirements, and guidance on energy and water management, green purchasing, and environmental stewardship
Questions and comments about EPA's green remediation efforts may be forwarded to:
Carlos Pachon, Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation.
