Message #112: June 2006

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The purpose of TechDirect is to identify new technical, policy and
guidance resources related to the assessment and remediation of contaminated
soil, sediments and ground water.

Mention of non-EPA documents or presentations does not constitute a
U.S. EPA endorsement of their contents, only an acknowledgment that they
exist and may be relevant to the TechDirect audience.

Special Notice

Underground Storage Tanks Program Draft Guidelines for Comment. The U.S. EPA Office of Underground Storage Tanks (OUST) has recently published for comment three draft guidelines to implement Title XV, Subtitle B of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which focuses on preventing underground storage tank releases. EPA, in conjunction with states and other stakeholders, developed these grant guidelines for state underground storage tank programs. EPA will accept comments on these three draft guidelines beginning May 25, 2006 for 30 days, ending June 24, 2006. See http://www.epa.gov/oust/fedlaws/epact_05.htm#Drafts to view the drafts and obtain details about how and where to submit comments.

• Grant Guidelines To States For Implementing The Delivery Prohibition Provision Of The Energy Policy Act Of 2005 (EPA 510-D-06-003, May 2006)
• Grant Guidelines to States For Implementing The Secondary Containment Provision Of The Energy Policy Act Of 2005 (EPA 510-D-06-001, May 2006)
• Grant Guidelines to States For Implementing The Financial Responsibility
  
• Certification Provision Of The Energy Policy Act Of 2005
  (EPA 510-D-06-002, May 2006)

Internet Seminars

ITRC Characterization, Design, Construction and Monitoring of Bioreactor
Landfills – June 13. Bioreactors are landfills where controlled addition of non-hazardous liquid wastes, sludges, or water accelerates the decomposition of waste
and landfill gas generation. This training, based on the ITRC's Characterization,
Design, Construction, and Monitoring of Bioreactor Landfills (ALT-3, 2006),
teaches the principles used to make critical decisions during permitting, operating, and monitoring a bioreactor landfill. This training also provides a general understanding of the biological degradation of solid wastes under aerobic and anaerobic waste conditions and the degradation products associated with each process. For more information and to register, see http://clu-in.org/studio .

ITRC Permeable Reactive Barriers: Lessons Learned and New Directions –
June 15. This training presents updated information regarding new developments,
innovative approaches, and lessons learned in the application of PRBs to treat a
variety of groundwater contaminants. The information will be presented by reviewing
the approaches and results at several sites where PRBs have been deployed. The training is based on the ITRC guidance document titled Permeable Reactive
Barriers: Lessons Learned / New Directions (PRB-4, 2005). For more information and to register, see http://clu-in.org/studio .

New Documents

Making Data Meaningful: A Guide to Writing Stories About Numbers. This
guide was prepared within the framework of the United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe (UNECE) Work Session on Statistical Dissemination and
Communication. It is intended as a practical tool to help managers,
statisticians and media relations officers use text, tables, graphics and other
information to bring statistics to life using effective writing techniques. It contains
suggestions, guidelines and examples – but not golden rules. This publication
recognizes that there are many practical and cultural differences among statistical
offices, and that approaches vary from country to country (2005, 25 pages). View
or download at http://www.clu-in.org/download/char/making_data_meaningful_(un_booklet).pdf

Attenuation of Nitrate in the Sub-surface Environment (SR SC030155/SR2).
This Science Report was published by the UK Environment Agency. It provides a literature review of nitrate attenuation mechanisms as they occur in the sub-surface environment. It discusses the chemical conditions under which attenuation occurs and the hydrogeological environments within which this has been observed. The processes controlling nitrate attenuation in the soil zone are well understood. However, for the
environment beneath this zone, relatively little is known about the prevailing geochemical conditions that determine whether denitrification will take place (November 2005, 108 pages). View or download at http://publications.environment-agency.gov.uk/pdf/SCHO0605BJCS-e-e.pdf

Triad Resource Center. Four new articles have been added to the Reading
Room section of the Triad Resource Center web site: Triad Saves $109K on
Three Petroleum Sites; Triad Speeds Cleanup of Lead-Contaminated Firing
Range Soil; Performance Based Criteria: A Panel Discussion; and, Managing Decision Uncertainty. To view or download these articles, see the Triad Resource Center Reading Room at http://www.triadcentral.org/ref/room/ .

Draft Handbook for Developing Watershed Plans to Restore and Protect Our
Waters (EPA 841-B-05-005). This draft guide to watershed management was
produced by the EPA Office of Water. Its purpose is to help various
organizations develop and implement watershed plans. This handbook
contains in-depth guidance on quantifying existing pollutant loads, developing
estimates of the load reductions required to meet water quality standards, developing
effective management measures, and tracking progress once the plan is implemented.
EPA is accepting comments and suggestions on the document through June 30,
2006. To access the handbook, get instructions for submitting comments, and
viewing the related archived internet seminar, see
http://www.epa.gov/owow/nps/watershed_handbook/ .

EPA TechMatch. The U.S. EPA has partnered with the West Virginia High
Tech Foundation Consortium to create a new website call EPA Techmatch to
identify licensing opportunities for EPA patents. Its goal is to encourage
entrepreneurs to license EPA technologies and develop new products to strengthen
environmental protection. The site contains a searchable database of EPA patents
across all media. You may also browse diverse technologies available for licensing
and/or cooperative research partnerships.  Third-party independent analyses of
the commercial potential of the technologies also are available.  For more
information, see http://www.epatechmatch.com .

Environmental Knowledge and Assessment Tool (EKAT) – The development of
EKAT was funded by the U.S. Marine Corps. The goal of EKAT is to help
remediation and hazardous waste professionals save time and effort
working on projects related to remediation, brownfields, site characterization,
hazardous waste, and clean up issues. EKAT contains a wealth of
centralized regulatory information. There are online tools to screen chemicals for
federal and state regulatory information, including CERCLA, RCRA, CAA, and CWA. Get NIOSH REL and OSHA PEL information for chemicals in air. EKAT also
includes Hazardous Waste Guides, Physical and Chemical Properties Guides
and Toxicology Guides to help with risk assessments. EKAT summarizes,
categorizes and links to highly useful resources on: major federal
regulations such as CERCLA and RCRA, as well as on environmentally pertinent topics such as Coatings, Explosives Safety, the Federal Facilities Compliance
Act (FFCA), Military Munitions Rule (MMR), and Solvents Alternatives. Quick
access to online resources such as TOXNET, EPI Suite, and the Periodic
Table increases efficiency in finding information. Register on the EKAT
demo site to test out the system. For more information and to register
please visit http://www.ekat-tool.com/demo/intro/index.html.

Dry Cleaner Virtual Tour. This slide presentation was developed by the
State Coalition for the Remediation of Drycleaners. Spent drycleaning
solvents have been found in soils and ground water in approximately
three-quarters of existing or former dry cleaning facilities. Because these contaminants
are difficult to remove, they present a substantial environmental challenge.
You can take a virtial tour of the dry cleaning process which includes the
cleaning and recycling of used cleaning solvents. Go to
http://www.drycleancoalition.org/tour/ .

Conferences and Symposia

U.S. EPA 2006 Community Involvement Conference and Training, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 27-30. The conference will offer participants original,
engaging, and interactive presentations focusing on ways that government can
interact with communities to brew something truly impressive: environmental results
through community involvement. It is intended for EPA community involvement,
outreach, and program staff, as well as EPA partners who plan and implement
environmental community involvement, partnership, stewardship, outreach, and education programs. The conference will include several plenary sessions and
dozens of concurrent sessions, as well as field trips, exhibits, a poster session,
evening activities, and many networking opportunities. In addition, several
four- or eight-hour post-conference training workshops will be offered. For more
information, please visit http://epa.gov/ciconference .

2006 Midwestern States Risk Assessment Symposium, Indianapolis, August
21-24. The primary topic is chlorinated solvents. The topic is divided into
sessions on Trichloroethylene and Dry Cleaners. Each session will feature nationally
prominent speakers. For more information and to register, see
http://web.e-enterprise.purdue.edu/wps/portal/Environment/msras .

NOTE: For TechDirect, we prefer to concentrate mainly on new documents
and the Internet live events. However, we do support an area on CLU-IN where
announcement of conferences and courses can be regularly posted.
Currently there are 80 conferences and courses featured. We invite sponsors to
input information on their events at http://clu-in.org/courses . Likewise,
readers may visit this area for news of upcoming events that might be of interest.
It allows users to search events by location, topic, time period, etc.