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Green Remediation Focus

ASTM Standard Guide for Greener Cleanups

The 2016 revised ASTM Standard Guide for Greener Cleanups (E2893-16) and associated adjuncts are now available for purchase

EPA representatives worked with ASTM International to develop a consensus-based standard intended to encourage property owners, regulatory agencies, responsible parties, developers and communities to voluntarily use greener practices for contaminated site cleanup. As a starting point for the standard development process, EPA's Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM), EPA regional offices and state agencies developed a framework outlining the desired outcomes of a potential standard for greener cleanups. The framework reflected EPA's Principles for Greener Cleanups, which focus on five core elements associated with a cleanup project's environmental footprint.

EPA anticipates that use of this private sector standard guide will advance EPA's objectives by:

ASTM International issued the ASTM Standard Guide for Greener Cleanups (E2893-13) in November 2013 and an updated version (E2893-16) in May 2016. The guide includes:

  • A systematic protocol to identify, prioritize, select, implement and report on the use of best management practices (BMPs) to reduce the environmental footprint of cleanup activities
  • Greener Cleanup Bulletin: Use of the ASTM Standard Guide for Greener Cleanups at the North Ridge Estates Superfund Site

    As one in a series of bulletins about environmental footprint reductions at specific sites undergoing cleanup, this bulletin summarizes EPA's application of the ASTM Standard Guide for Greener Cleanups to plan remediation at operable unit 1 of the North Ridge Estates site near Klamath Falls, Oregon.

  • A list outlining 115 greener cleanup BMPs that are linked to the core elements of a greener cleanup and to relevant cleanup technologies
  • Guidelines to quantify the environmental footprint of cleanup activities, and
  • A reporting structure to promote public availability of information relating to the decision-making process and communication of outcomes across the five core elements.
  • Providing clear definitions, methods, expectations and goals that can be used by all stakeholders involved in a cleanup, making it easier for regulators and the regulated community to implement greener cleanups
  • Establishing a framework to support new tools for evaluating impacts from cleanups, and
  • Building upon state and local government incentives for greener cleanups.

Webcast IconJune 28, 2018, Web Seminar:

Perspectives on the Implementation of Greener Cleanups
This seminar shared the experiences of three major federal agencies applying the ASTM Standard Guide for Greener Cleanups at three sites. The seminar is available for on-demand viewing or presentation downloading.

In partnership with the ASTM team, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency collaborated with Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund borrowers to pilot the Standard Guide at four sites: Chicago — Whitney Young LibraryAdobe PDF Logo, Schaumburg — Murzyn/Anderson PropertyAdobe PDF Logo, South Beloit — Corner ParcelAdobe PDF Logo and South Beloit — Foundry Parcel.Adobe PDF Logo

The standard is intended to complement regulatory and voluntary cleanup programs and accommodate each phase of a cleanup

Frequently asked questions:

 

Other questions about technical or logistical aspects of the standard guide should be directed to ASTM International. For general information about applying the standard guide under EPA's site cleanup programs, contact EPA program office representatives.

For Background Information

  • See the December 2013 memorandumAdobe PDF Logo from EPA's OLEM Assistant Administrator to regional administrators and OLEM office directors recognizing the standard guide as a resource to reduce the environmental footprint of cleanups. In line with the Agency's pursuit of a cleaner, safer environment, OLEM recommends that EPA's regional offices and OLEM program offices facilitate and encourage use of the standard guide in efforts to implement greener cleanup practices.
  • View EPA's Winter 2016 updateAdobe PDF Logo on this effort.
  • See the April 2010 OLEM positionAdobe PDF Logo on a standard guide for greener cleanups.