The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is taking action to fully understand and address the current extent and impacts of DDT contamination at the United Heckathorn Superfund site in Richmond, California. Recent sediment sampling in the harbor will help EPA identify the source of DDT that has been re-contaminating the Lauritzen Channel since earlier cleanup activities.

Learn about the soil vapor extraction/bioventing system at the Del Amo Superfund Site, Waste Pits Area, in Los Angeles, California. See how it works to remove cancer-causing benzene from the soil, and how progress is measured.

State, EPA personnel and Boston area activists recall the Boston Harbor cleanup. Highlights: EPA's role in the process, the dreadful condition of the harbor beforehand, the major construction projects it took to get the harbor clean and what having a clean harbor has meant to marine life and how the change has affected the average Bostonian's quality of life.

US EPA's proposed enhanced biological treatment uses cheese whey and molasses as a food source for natural microbes that live in the soil and ground water. The video describes the use of this enhanced biological treatment (or bioremediation) at the Romic facility in East Palo Alto, California. These microbes break down the contaminants into carbon dioxide, water and salt.

The former creosote treating facility on Bainbridge Island in Washington State requires a coordinated effort to address contamination on the land and in the water. Three remedies are being used, groundwater treatment, a seawall to prevent chemicals from reaching Puget Sound, and a protective cap on the sea floor. Site investigation from the EPA Scientific Diving Team monitors how the sea floor is recovering. State, local and community partners are critical to the success of the cleanup efforts.

Learn about the soil and groundwater cleanup at the Pacific Coast Pipeline Superfund Site near Fillmore, CA, located at the southern end of Ventura County. A refinery operated there until 1950, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is now overseeing the cleanup so the property can be restored and put to beneficial use.

This video walks audiences through the Superfund cleanup process at the Fletcher's Paint Superfund Site in Milford, NH, where there has been significant work done to analyze and study the site, work with the State of New Hampshire and Responsible Parties to then design a cleanup and cleanup the site.

The cleanup efforts at the Lawrence Aviation Superfund Site in Port Jefferson, NY embrace sustainable and green remediation practices. Green remediation practices for long term cleanup efforts make the cleanup more efficient and more sustainable for the surrounding community. The groundwater treatment plant at the site has a number of green features including sustainable sourcing, local labor and geo-thermal heating and cooling.

EPA developed the set of analytical workbooks known as "SEFA" to help remedial project managers and other decision-makers estimate the environmental footprint of a cleanup project at a detailed level. As an Excel-based tool, SEFA uses site-specific input and automated calculations to quantify 21 metrics such as the amounts of energy used onsite (BTUs), onsite emission of hazardous air pollutants (pounds), used potable water sourced from public water supplies (gallons), refined materials used onsite (tons), and onsite waste that is recycled or reused (percent). In November 2019, EPA released Version 3.0 of SEFA. The update reflects new default footprint conversion factors for additional materials, diesel or gasoline engines of various sizes, and laboratory analyses. SEFA output enables decision-makers to determine which cleanup activities drive the environmental footprint and to accordingly adjust the project parameters in ways that reduce the footprint and improve the environmental outcome.

EPA recently updated its three-part fact sheet series to continue helping project managers and other cleanup stakeholders assess site-specific remedy vulnerabilities and, where needed, implement measures to increase the remedy's resilience. The series addresses contaminated sediment sites (EPA 542-F-19-003, October 2019, 10 pages), contaminated waste containment systems (EPA 542-F-19-004, October 2019, 10 pages) and groundwater remediation systems (EPA 542-F-19-005, October 2019, 8 pages). The updated series provides more examples of potential measures to increase remedy resilience, highlights Superfund projects involving measures to address recently-identified vulnerabilities, and describes new decision-making tools developed by EPA or other federal agencies to address particular implications of a changing climate. The climate resilience concepts may also apply to site cleanups conducted under other regulatory programs or through voluntary efforts.

The applications of engineering and science associated with cleaning up hazardous waste sites continue to evolve rapidly. Our goal is to facilitate an interactive engagement between professionals from government and the private sector related to relevant and topical issues affecting our field. Past symposium abstract submission categories have provided flexibility in the types of information and presentations that would be considered for panels. In order to be considered for a presentation at this year's symposium, abstracts must be based on a project conducted by the presenter that is either complete or substantially complete with a focus on challenges and lessons learned. This year, we are requesting formal moderator nominations. Panel moderators will provide a key role to support panelists in presentation development, quality review of the presentations, and panel dry runs. Both abstract submissions and moderator nominations are due by December 14, 2019.

The Department of Defense's SERDP is seeking environmental research and development proposals for funding beginning in FY 2021. Projects will be selected through a competitive process. The Core Solicitation provides funding opportunities for basic and applied research and advanced technology development. Core projects vary in cost and duration consistent with the scope of the work proposed. The Statements of Need (SON) referenced by this solicitation request proposals related to the SERDP program areas of Environmental Restoration (ER), Munitions Response (MR), Resource Conservation and Resiliency (RC), and Weapons Systems and Platforms (WP). The SERDP Exploratory Development (SEED) Solicitation provides funding opportunities for work that will investigate innovative environmental approaches that entail high technical risk or require supporting data to provide proof of concept. Funding is limited to not more than $250,000 and projects are approximately one year in duration. This year, SERDP is requesting SEED proposals for the Munitions Response program area. All Core pre-proposals are due January 7, 2020. SEED proposals are due March 5, 2020.