Standard Guide for Greener Cleanups

Abstract

4.1 Purpose—This guide provides a process for identifying, prioritizing, selecting, implementing, documenting, and reporting activities to reduce the environmental footprint of a cleanup as defined by the following core elements. 4.1.1 Minimize Total Energy Use and Maximize Use of Renewable Energy—Reducing total energy use while also identifying means to increase the use of renewable energies throughout the cleanup. Possible methods may include reducing energy use, using energy efficient equipment, using on-site renewable resources (for example, wind, solar), and purchasing commercial energy from renewable resources. 4.1.2 Minimize Air Pollutants and Greenhouse Gas Emissions—Reducing total air emissions, including emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases, throughout the cleanup. Possible methods may include minimizing the generation and transport of airborne contaminants and dust, using efficient emitting equipment (for example, vehicles and heavy equipment), using advanced emission controls, and using cleaner fuels or hybrid technologies. 4.1.2.1 This guide, when applied to orphan and abandoned oil and natural gas wells strongly encourages plugging and capping the wells to prevent emissions of methane and VOCs in conformance with §40601 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. 4.1.3 Minimize Water Use and Impacts to Water Resources—Minimizing the use of water and impacts to water resources throughout the cleanup. Possible methods may include conserving water use in cleanup processes, using water efficient products, capturing and reclaiming water for reuse, revegetating with water efficient plants, and employing traditional BMPs for storm water, erosion, and sedimentation control. 4.1.4 Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle Materials and Waste—Minimizing the use of virgin materials and generation of waste throughout the cleanup as well as maximizing the use of recycled materials. Possible methods may include using recycled and locally generated materials, reusing waste materials (for example, concrete made with coal combustion products), diverting construction and demolition debris from disposal by recycling recovered resources, and using rapidly renewable materials or certified wood products. 4.1.5 Protect Land and Ecosystems—Reducing impacts to the land and ecosystem services throughout the cleanup. Possible methods may include minimizing the area requiring activity and use limitations by the removal or destruction of contaminants; identifying the presence of and limiting the disturbance of mature, non-invasive, native vegetation, surface hydrology, soils, and habitats in the cleanup area; restore habitats; and minimizing noise and light disturbance. 4.1.6 Recognition of Tribal Sovereignty and Tribal Environmental Programs—as discussed in EPA’s Consultation with Indian Tribes (2023) many tribes have environmental programs, game and fish and natural resources programs, brownfields coordinators and Tribal Response Programs that should be consulted for projects impinging on tribal lands (which can include ceded territories, allotments, and other parts of “Indian Country” off reservation). Tribes have various rights with regards to cultural sites off reservation, even in states where they do not currently have reservations. 4.2 Consider Adaption and Resiliency: 4.2.1 Remedies at contaminated sites may be vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events. Under its CERCLA authority, US EPA developed an approach that raises awareness of these vulnerabilities and applies climate change and weather science as a standard operating practice in cleanup projects. The approach involves periodic screening of Superfund remedy vulnerabilities, prioritizing the Superfund program's steps to adapt to a changing climate, and identifying measures to assure climate resilience of Superfund sites. Under its RCRA authority, US EPA’s hazardous waste corrective action program developed recommendations for EPA regions and RCRA authorized states about how to work with RCRA facility owners and operators to integrate climate change adaptation considerations into the RCRA cleanup process. This integration will help protect human health and the environment by ensuring that RCRA corrective action cleanups remain effective and prevent the migration of hazardous waste or constituents. 4.2.2 The user should assess the risks associated with a changing climate by conducting a sitespecific vulnerability assessment (see Consideration of Climate Resilience in the Superfund Cleanup Process for non-Federal NPL Sites, Conducting Climate Vulnerability Assessments at Superfund Sites, and the Navy’s Technical Memorandum: Green and Sustainable Remediation Best Management Practices, as well as the Washington Department of Ecology’s Sustainable Remediation: Climate Change Resiliency and Green Remediation). 4.2.2.1 US EPA guidance supports consideration of climate change at all stages of cleanup, including remedy selection, so that adaptation measures that would increase the selected remedy’s resilience are considered. US EPA’s Conducting Climate Vulnerability Assessments at Superfund Sites, clearly states that vulnerability assessments may be performed at all stages of a cleanup. In addition, US EPA’s Consideration of Climate Resilience in the Superfund Cleanup Process for non-Federal NPL Sites recommends an approach for US EPA Regions to consider using when evaluating climate resilience during the remedy selection and implementation process. 4.2.2.2 The user should identify adaptation measures that increase climate-change resilience across a range of cleanup sites in different phases: site investigation; identifying resilient cleanup remedies, remedial design and implementation; and operation and maintenance. The user should identify green remediation best management practices to increase the environmental benefits and reduce the environmental impacts from cleanup (see EPA’s Integrating Green Remediation and Climate Resilience Under the Superfund Remedial Acquisition Framework: A Primer for Service Contractors and Technical Memorandum: Green and Sustainable Remediation Best Management Practices). In accordance with US EPA’s Incorporating Sustainability Principles in Cleanup Enforcement Actions Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Memorandum, application of Indigenous Knowledge is encouraged, if applicable. 4.2.3 There are synergistic BMPs that provide a site with green remediation and climate resilience- for instance floodplain development that improves infiltration and disperses energy, and also adds ecosystem services to an area. Or solar powered pumps used in a pump and treat system that is susceptible to storm outages. 4.2.4 This guide conforms with several provisions in EPA’s Incorporating Sustainability Principles in Cleanup Enforcement Actions Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Memorandum, September 29,2023. Specifically, this guide includes provisions for: 4.2.4.1 stakeholder engagement; 4.2.4.2 sustainable reuse; 4.2.4.3 climate change adaptation, 4.2.4.4 mitigation, and resilience; and 4.2.4.5 Tribal consultation 4.2.5 Regulatory drivers for green remediation include, but are not limited to 4.2.5.1 Executive Orders 14008 and 14057, 4.2.5.2 Remediation under CERCLA, RCRA, TSCA, Tribal, state enforcement or voluntary cleanup programs 4.2.5.3 Corporate environmental management system such as ISO 14001 4.2.5.4 Environmental Risk Management protocols 4.2.5.5 Environmental, social, and governance criteria, if applicable 4.2.5.6 Section 40601 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, (Public Law 117-58) 4.2.5.7 40 CFR 247, and 4.2.5.8 FAR Part 23 4.3 Professional Experience—This guide requires the skills of a lead environmental professional and project team, as appropriate, to evaluate and apply greener cleanup practices, processes, and technologies to each cleanup phase while meeting cleanup program-specific requirements and ensuring protection of human health and the environment. This guide presumes the lead environmental professional is knowledgeable in cleanup practices and experienced in identifying and satisfying applicable statutory or regulatory cleanup requirements and expectations. 4.4 Uncertainty in Greener Cleanups—Professional judgment, interpretation, and some uncertainty are inherent in the greener cleanups process even when decisions are based upon objective scientific principles and accepted industry practices. Although such uncertainties are inevitable, they typically will not detract from the ability of the user to achieve meaningful improvements in the site cleanup. 4.5 Regulatory Context—The user is responsible for determining the regulatory context, and associated constraints and obligations for each site, and shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including CERCLA, RCRA, TSCA, and other environmental laws. 4.5.1 The user shall comply with health and safety requirements under the Occupational Safety and Health Act and parallel Tribal, state statutes and regulations. 4.5.2 This guide may not be appropriate for certain cleanups, such as some emergency response actions, that do not allow sufficient time for its application. 4.5.3 Implementation of this guide may involve additional costs or require changes to the cleanup schedule; however, its implementation should not unduly delay a cleanup or result in the imposition of unreasonable costs. Furthermore, implementation of this guide may reduce lifecycle costs (see Integrating Green Remediation and Climate Resilience Under the Superfund Remedial Acquisition Framework: A Primer for Service Contractors). Greening clean-up is another way of thinking about optimization; for example, reducing the required energy or water needs of a treatment system and generating the required energy on-site (see Technical Memorandum: Green and Sustainable Remediation Best Management Practices). 4.6 Process Implementation—This guide may be initiated at any time during any cleanup phase, including during: site assessment; remedy selection; remedy design/implementation; operation, maintenance, and monitoring; and remedy optimization. 4.7 Process Overview—At initiation, the user should review Section 3, Terminology, and then proceed to Section 4, Significance and Use, and Section 5, Planning and Scoping. Users who plan to implement the BMP process only, should proceed to Section 6. Users who plan to employ a quantitative evaluation should proceed to Section 7, prior to, or during implementing Section 6. Section 8 describes documentation and reporting. 4.7.1 Section 5, Planning and Scoping, describes information the user should collect and consider to assist in making several site-specific, user-defined decisions for implementing the guide. 4.7.2 Section 6, BMP Process, describes steps for the user to identify, prioritize, select, implement, and document BMPs. 4.7.3 Section 7, Quantitative Evaluation, describes a process for implementing a footprint analysis or LCA. Section 7 is not designed to instruct the user on how to perform footprint analysis or LCA. It presumes that a member of the project team is knowledgeable in a quantitative evaluation approach applicable to the site. 4.7.4 Section 8 describes recommended documentation and reporting on the implementation of the guide. 4.7.5 Section 9 provides keywords for indexing and searching purposes. 4.7.6 This guide includes four appendices. 4.7.6.1 Appendix X1, Supporting Documentation, provides supplemental reference material for the user to consider when implementing this guide. 4.7.6.2 Appendix X2, Technical Summary Form, is a template of the reporting expectations described in Section 8. This includes general information about the site (for example, location), process steps, and greener cleanup outcomes from implementing the guide. The user may employ this template or another applicable format for reporting results from implementing this guide. An example of a Technical Summary Form is provided as Table X2.1. A writable pdf file of the Technical Summary Form is available as an adjunct.5 4.7.6.3 Appendix X3, Greener Cleanup BMP Table, supports Section 6 by providing a comprehensive list of BMPs to assist the user. Standard best management practices for cleanup (that is, those related to engineering and technology, but unrelated to reducing environmental footprints) are generally not included in the Greener Cleanup BMP Table. An Excel-based file of the Greener Cleanup BMP Table is available as an adjunct.6 4.7.6.4 Appendix X4, Supplemental Information for a Quantitative Evaluation, supports Section 7 by providing general information on footprint analysis and LCA, including their uses, similarities, and differences.