- ITRC issues new guidance on optimizing injection strategies
- Reducing the environmental footprint of cleanup by switching to green power
- Recent Elizabeth Mine pilot test evaluates use of energy-saving rotating cylinder system to treat mining-influenced water
- Updated Watershed Management Optimization Support Tool (WMOST) now available
- ITRC issues new guidance on use of advanced site characterization tools
- Call for abstracts: Battelle 2021 Sediments Conference
- News archives...
- April 21 EPA Superfund redevelopment roundtable webinar
- April 23 EPA webinar on sustainable materials management prioritization tools
- April 29 EPA webinar on water treatment modeling tools for organic compounds
- May 13 EPA-SAME webinar on integrating resiliency and sustainability into remedies
- May 21 ITRC webinar on optimizing in situ injection strategies
- May 31-June 4 Battelle 2020 Chlorinated Conference in Portland
- June 9-11 best practices for site characterization training in Chicago
- More on the calendar...
- View the Perspectives on the Implementation of Greener Cleanups webinar presentations
Cleanup at the former Nebraska Ordnance Plant near Mead, Nebraska, includes a strategy to reduce the environmental footprint of long-term groundwater pump and treat (P&T) activities. The strategy focuses on integrating renewable energy, optimizing P&T operations, beneficially using the treated groundwater, and deploying advanced site characterization techniques. Operation of onsite solar energy systems has offset 535,700 kWh of the grid electricity used since 2014, and about 120,000 pounds of granular activated carbon are no longer needed each year due to RDX treatment modifications. Approximately 30% of the treated water now serves as a source of non-potable water for local users.
Operation of wind turbines at the Continental Steel Corp. site in Kokomo, Indiana, offsets up to 60% of the grid electricity used to extract contaminated groundwater from 16 wells.
Use of a continuous one-pass trencher for remedy construction at the Altus Air Force Base in Altus, Oklahoma, reduced fuel consumption while minimizing disturbance to ground surfaces and vegetation.
Integration of a bioreactor to degrade contaminants in groundwater at the Re-Solve Inc. site in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts, resulted in an 86 percent reduction in processed chemical usage.
A groundwater treatment building for the Lawrence Aviation Industries site in Port Jefferson Station, New York, was built to meet selected LEED criteria for green building.
Onsite solar energy is used to power skimming pumps that recover hydrocarbons from groundwater at the former St. Croix Alumina Plant in Kingshill, U.S. Virgin Islands.
About 500,000 tons of byproduct from a local industrial plant was used to stabilize 85 acres of mine-impacted lands at the De Sale Restoration Area in Butler County, Pennsylvania.
Restoration of the Pemaco Superfund site in Mayfield, California, included establishing greenspace that promotes rainwater infiltration and minimizes stormwater runoff.
Best Management Practice (BMP)
Fact Sheets
- An Overview (PDF) (2 pp, 231K)
- Excavation and Surface Restoration (PDF) (5 pp, 286K) *Update*
- Site Investigation and Environmental Monitoring (PDF) (4 pp, 179K)
- 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 Tanks (PDF) (4 pp, 216K) *Update*
- 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)
- Executive Order 13834 Regarding Efficient Federal Operations.
The EO sets forth requirements that agencies have to meet to make the Federal Government's operations more sustainable. Use of greener cleanup strategies in the US EPA's Superfund and other site cleanup programs helps meet statutory requirements concerning energy and environmental performance in a manner that increases efficiency, optimizes performance, eliminates unnecessary use of resources, and protects the environment.
Learn about footprint assessment tools and view comprehensive reports on footprint evaluations conducted at sites undergoing cleanup. EPA's universal greener cleanup metrics provide a uniform and transparent approach to quantifying the environmental footprint associated with materials, wastes, water or energy that are used or generated during a cleanup. EPA's Spreadsheets for Environmental Footprint Analysis (SEFA) tool is available to help evaluate the environmental footprint of a cleanup project at a detailed level. *Update*
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.
