[CPEO-BIF] ITRC Guidance on Remediation Process Optimization

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

ITRC
For Immediate Release

Evaluating the effectiveness, efficiency, and goals of cleanup projects 
is focus of ITRC guidance

Far into the future, federal agencies, state governments, and 
private-sector corporations will be spending billions of dollars on the 
characterization and assessment of environmental contamination and on 
the selection, construction, operation, maintenance, and monitoring of 
environmental remediation systems. The traditional approach has followed 
a basic, linear "study/design/build" paradigm, but years of experience 
with the significant uncertainties inherent in environmental cleanup has 
revealed the need for more flexible, iterative approaches.

Mechanisms that allow for both the systematic reevaluation of initial 
objectives and the continuous improvement and optimization of 
remediation technologies and techniques are known collectively as 
"remediation process optimization" (RPO). With schedules for long-term 
remedial actions frequently being measured not merely in years, but in 
decades, RPO is not just an option, but a necessity. An RPO review is a 
way to evaluate the status of a remediation process to get an idea when 
a cleanup project has met its goals and can be considered "finished." 
Depending on site-specific conditions, such an RPO review could result 
in substantial savings in cost as well as time to completion.

The Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council RPO Team announces the 
publication of Remediation Process Optimization: Identifying 
Opportunities for Enhanced and More Efficient Site Remediation, guidance 
that describes the general regulatory and technical framework for 
evaluating remediation processes, regardless of the type or complexity 
of the remedy. This document provides interested parties-regardless of 
role (responsible parties, regulators, stakeholders)-with practical 
information and guidance on how to systematically evaluate and manage 
uncertainty associated with the remediation process by using RPO as a tool.

The regulatory environment establishes the need to review and possibly 
revise cleanup goals to ensure their continuous applicability. As a 
result, scientific advances and regulatory changes-such as the movement 
toward risk-based goals and reevaluation of technologies deployed-are 
core features of a comprehensive RPO review. Therefore, consideration is 
given to the reevaluation of remediation goals and ways that potentially 
inapplicable or unattainable goals can be updated based on these and 
other new regulatory approaches.

Until recently, RPO has been associated with the "how" of remediation, 
such as the technologies in place. This new document, designated RPO-1, 
looks not just at the "how" of site cleanup, but also at the "why." It 
provides guidance on what could and should be included in an effective 
RPO proposal or program, including what RPO is, the regulatory framework 
that RPO must operate within, and references that provide examples of 
successful RPOs and resources for further examination of RPO. The 
guidance identifies and describes the applicability, advantages, and 
disadvantages of various approaches, as well as where they are most 
appropriate for use. It also lays out key considerations when planning, 
designing, and implementing an optimization review, including 
information and tools to help ensure that the remediation process is 
progressing toward site cleanup objectives that are both acceptable and 
feasible and that selected remediation approaches attain those 
objectives and remain protective of human health and the environment.

Remediation Process Optimization: Identifying Opportunities for Enhanced 
and More Efficient Site Remediation and other ITRC products can be 
downloaded from the ITRC Web site at www.itrcweb.org by clicking on 
"Guidance Documents." To receive a hard-copy ITRC document in the mail, 
e-mail your request to itrc@wpi.biz.

ITRC is a state-led group that works to overcome regulatory barriers to 
the deployment of innovative environmental technologies. ITRC 
participants come from state regulatory agencies, federal agencies 
concerned with environmental cleanup, environmental consulting firms, 
and technology vendors. These diverse experts work together in technical 
teams to develop documents and training to help regulators develop 
consistent, streamlined approaches to regulating innovative technologies 
and help environmental consultants improve the way innovative 
technologies are deployed.




--
Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org

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