vvEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
Technology
Innovation Office
September, 1993
The Technical Support
Project: First Five Years
THE PROJECT
Overview
The Technical Support Project (TSP) was established in
1987 by the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response
(OSWER), the Office of ResearchandDevelopment(ORD),
and theRegionalOffices. Theprojectis designed to improve
hazardous and solid waste site cleanups by providing direct
technical assistance to Superfund and RCRA corrective
action project managers.
Under the TSP, the Environmental Response Team and
Technical Support Centers located in ORD and Office of
Radiation Programs laboratories support a variety of site-
specific technical requests. The Centers develop "issue
papers" on critical technical topics, conduct workshops
addressing cleanup problems, and provide training to EPA
staff.
During its first five years of operation, the TSP has provided
support for over 1,600 requests for site-specific technical
assistance and responded to thousands of telephone inquir-
ies. The TSP has been successful in improving communica-
tions among EPA's ORD scientists and Regional and Pro-
gram Office staff.
The Historical Problem
During the 1980s, studies by Congress and EPA highlighted
a number of problems related to Superfund site remediation
decision-making. The workload for the Agency's Remedial
Project Managers (RPMs) and On-Scene Coordinators
(OSCs) involvedcontroversialandcontentiousissues. While
many RPMs and OSCs had degrees in science or engineer-
ing, few were technical experts in the variety of scientific
disciplines involved in site remediation. Moreover, the
science was evolving rapidly. Typically, they relied on
contractors for technical advice with limited resources to
effectively evaluate that advice.
As the remediation focus shifted from studying hazardous
waste problems to selecting and implementing appropriate
remedial actions, project managers needed access to a broad
spectrumof technical expertise to support technology evalu-
ations, engineering designs, construction reviews, and per-
formance assessments. OSWER and ORD needed to ex-
plore ways to make the scientific expertise inORD labs more
readily available to support Regional decision-makers. The
result was the TSP.
Objectives
The TSP is designed to implement good science and engi-
neering in Superfund and RCRA cleanup decisions. The
project consists of a network of Regional Forums, Technical
Support Centers, and Headquarters Program Offices that
supports RPMs and OSCs. The objectives of the TSP are to:
4- Provide technical support to Regional staff.
* Improve communications among Regions and ORD
laboratories concerning remediation issues.
+ Coordinate the application of remedial technologies.
*• Furnish high-technology workshops and state-of-the-
science information.
Technical Support Centers
The Technical Support Centers are the mainstay of the TSP,
providing technical assistance in a variety of areas includ-
ing: development and review of sampling plans; application
of models and interpretation of data; review of contractor
work plans and reports; evaluation of remedial alternatives;
and performance of treatability studies. The Centers also
have developed specialized workshops, reports, and issue
papers. They provide assistance in eight broad specialty
areas consistent with their individual research missions.
Regional Forums
Regional technical personnel have established two Forums
that are part of the TSP: the Ground Water Forum and the
Engineering Forum. Forum members are spokespersons for
each Region's technical support efforts and together serve as
a conduit for the diffusion of technical informationresulting
from the TSP.
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The Ground Water Forum's primary objective is to promote
nationwide consistency in the technical approach to con-
ducting ground-water investigations. The Engineering Fo-
rum is involved in the design and construction of site
remedies, an area receiving increasing attention as more
sites moveintotheRemedialDesign/RemedialActionphase
of cleanup.
TSP ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Direct Technical Assistance
RPMs, OSCs, andRCRA project managers now have direct
access to technical support from EPA scientists and engi-
neers through Technical Support Centers. The TSP began
with Centers infour ORD laboratories and was limited to the
Superfund Program. Eight Centers now provide a range of
technical knowledgeandexpertisetosupportSuperfundproject
managers. The number of technical requests has grown from
100 per year in FY 1988 to 500 per year in FY 1992.
In 1991, the Office of Solid Waste began an effort to extend
the TSP to the RCRA corrective action program. RCRA
corrective action may affect almost 1,000 facilities, and
technical questions will be very similarto those addressed by
Superfund.
Surveyresults indicate thatdirectassistance to field staff in the
Regions continues to be the most important priority for Re-
gional respondents. The overall quality control rating (extent
to which the TSP has assisted Regional staff hi solving
technical problems) was quite high in a recent survey—over
70% of respondents rated the project as highly useful.
Communication
Inter-Regional communication among project managers,
engineers, and scientists has increased.
*• Through periodic meetings and conference calls
designed to address technical issues, Regional staff are
learning from each other and from experts hi ORD—
some of the most knowledgeable, scientists and engi-
neers in the hazardous waste site management field.
Summaries and abstracts of meeting proceedings are
disseminated to others in the Regions in order to share
important information. :
+ The Forums have made effective use of OSWER's
Clean-Up Information bulletin board (CLU-IN) to ex-
change and obtain information on technical topics.
* The TSP produces the Forum Focus, a newsletter that
reports on TSP member activities to EPA Headquarters,
the Regions, and ORD laboratory istaff who participate
in the TSP or could benefit from its services.
Technology Transfer j
The Forums have sponsored over 25 issue papers address-
ing technical issues •identified-by the-foram as critical to~r
remediationdecisions. Rated by 63% of survey respondents
as "very useful" or "extremely usefulf the papers provide
brief, readable summaries of current state-of-the-science
information relative to a particular tojpic.
I
The TSP has sponsored eight specialized workshops to
address technical questions identified by Regional staff.
Workshop proceedings are considered very useful by Re-
gional staff (averaging 3.7 on a five-pjoint scale in the latest
survey). The initial TSP workshops on lead battery and
wood-preserving sites fostered the development of "generic
site types," the precursor to efforts in OERR to develop
"presumptive remedies." I
Application of Research >
ORD labs now have an increased opportunity to get their
laboratory- and bench-scale research into the field for
demonstration and testing. The TjSP acts as a critical
feedback mechanism for focusing research efforts on the
highest priority and most productive areas. Researchers
have the opportunity to discuss their work with field
Creating a Communication Bridge
Uncertainties
Controversies
Problems
RPM
OSC
Familiarity with
Lab resources
& research
Opportunity to
apply research
theories
Knowledge of
Regional technical
needs
ORD
Laboratories
Advice
Information
Data
Solutions
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experts, enabling them to target their efforts at areas which
impede remediation. Consequently, me TSP aids minimiz-
ing the time between development of the science and appli-
cation of that knowledge to decision-making in the field.
Advancement of Regional Expertise
The TSP has succeeded in promoting the development of
technical capabilities within the Regions. Prior to the TSP,
Regional technical staff had few avenues for exchanging
information with the labs and Headquarters, and even fewer
opportunities to discuss technical problems and obtain feed-
back from other Regions. Regional staff now can indepen-
dently verify and evaluate recommendations from their
contractors.
Through the developmentof guidance documents, technical
workshops, and technical and policy workgroups, the Fo-
rums have developed mutually beneficial relationships with
a number of special interest organizations (NARPM, Air/
Superfund, RCRA Corrective Action Committee) through-
out the Agency. Headquarters staff rely onForummembers
to review and provide input on policy and technical docu-
ments under development.
Forum members have served on work groups to develop
Treatability Guidance documents, worked with the Office of
Solid Waste (OSW) in revising "SW-846," and addressed
the multimedia issue of field filtration of ground water. They
have worked with OERR and the Office of Enforcement in
addressing the "Technical Impracticability" issue, and they
represent the Regions on many national work groups.
STRATEGY FOR THE FUTURE
Over the next few years, the primary goal of the TSP will be
to continue to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and
consistency of hazardous and solid waste cleanups. This
will be accomplished, in part, through continued efforts to
promote the application of good science and engineering
principles in the cleanup of hazardous waste sites and to
provide continuing expert technical assistance to Superfund
decision-makers. The network of relationships established
by the TSP will be used to promote the following objectives:
Objective 1: Ensure internal consistency of technical posi-
tions adopted by EPA.
Objective 2: Improve consistency between EPA technical
positions and those of other federal agencies
and remediation stakeholders.
Objective 3: Expand coordination with EPA Program Of-
fices to ensure Forum input on technical is-
sues that may affect major policy decisions.
Technical Support
Centers
Ground-Water Fate and Transport
Robert S. Kerr Environmental
Research Laboratory
Ada, Oklahoma
Don Draper, (405) 436-8603
Monitoring and Site Characterization
Environmental Monitoring Systems
Laboratory
Las Vegas, Nevada
Ken Brown, (702) 798-2270
Environmental Response
Environmental Response Team
Edison, New Jersey
Joe LaforNara, (908)321-6740
Exposure and Ecorisk Assessment
Environmental Research Laboratory
Athens, Georgia
Dermont Bouchard, (706) 546-3130
Engineering and Treatment
Risk Reduction Engineering
Laboratory
Cincinnati, Ohio
BenBlaney, (513)569-7406
Health Risk
Environmental Criteria and
Assessment Office
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cindy Sonich-Mullin, (513) 569-7523
Radiological and Chemical
Assessment
National Air and Radiation
Environmental Laboratory
Montgomery, Alabama
Vicki Lloyd, (205) 270-3467
Ecological Assessment
Environmental Monitoring Systems
Laboratory
Cincinnati/ Ohio
Jim Lazorchak, (513) 533-8114
TSP Project Manager
Technology Innovation Office
Rich Steimle, (703) 308-8846
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I
I
TSP Issue Papers
Engineering
Data Gaps In Remedial Design (USAGE, July 1991) j
Treatment ofLead-Contaminated Soils (RREL, April 1991) EPA/540/2-91/009 |
Issues Affecting the Applicability and Success of Remedial/Removal Incineration Projects (RREL, February 1991) EPA/540/2-91/004
Construction Quality Management for Remedial Action and Remedial Design Waste Containment Systems (RREL, October 1992) EPA/540/R-92/073
Considerations for Conducting Testability Studies to Evaluate thelmpact of Metals Partitioning During the Incineration of Contaminated Soils from
Superfund Sites (RREL. September 1992) EPA/540/S-92/014 j
Materials Handling: Vendor Capabilities (RREL, Computerized Database)
In Situ Bloremedlatlon In the Vadose Zone (RSKERL, in press) j
Ground Water !
Dense Non-aqueous Phase Liquids (RSKERL, March 1991) EPA/540/4-91/002 ;
Characterizing Soils for Hazardous Waste Site Assessments (RSKERL & EMSL-LV, March 1991) EPA/540/4-91/003 i
Soil Sampling and Analysis for Volatile Organic Compounds (EMSL-LV, February 1991) EPA/540/4-91/001 j
Reductive Dehalogenatlon of Organic Contaminants In Soils and Ground Water (RSKERL, January 1991) EPA/540/4-90/054
Performance Evaluations of Pump-and-Treat Remediatlons (RSKERL, October 1989) EPA/540/4-89/005 |
Facilitated Transport (RSKERL, August 1989) EPA/540/4-89/003 ;
Contaminant Transport In Fractured Media: Models for Decision Makers (RSKERL, August^ 989) EPA/540/4-89/004 i
Accuracy of Depth to Water Measurements (RSKERL, August 1989) EPA/540/4-89/002 j
Ground Water Sampling for Metals Analyses (RSKERL & EMSL-LV, 1989) EPA/540/4-89/001 j
Survey of Laboratory Studies Relating to the Sorption/Desorption of Contaminants on Selected Well Casing Materials (EMSL-LV, August 1992) EPA/
540/4-91/005
TCE Removal from Contaminated Soil and Ground Water (RSKERL, January 1992) EPA/540/S-92/002
Chemical Enhancements to Pump-and-Treat Remediation (RSKERL, January 1992) EPA/540/S-92/001
In Situ Bloremedlatlon of Contaminated Ground Water (RSKERL, February 1992) EPA/540/S-92/003
Evaluation of Soil Venting Application (RSKERL. April 1992) EPA/540/S-92/004
Fundamentals of Ground-Water Modeling (RSKERL, April 1992) EPA/540/S-92/005
Potential Sources of Error In Ground-Water Sampling at Hazardous Waste Sites (EMSL-LV, August 1992) EPA/540/S-92/019
Behavior of Metals In Soils (RSKERL, October 1992) EPA/540/S-92/018
Other
Suggested Operating Procedures for Aquifer Pumping Tests (RSKERL, February 1993) EPA/540/S-93/503
Monitoring Well Development Guidelines for Superfund Project Managers (Ground Water Forum, April 1992)
Superfund Technical Review Process (Ground Water & Engineering Forums, April 1992)
EPA documents are available by faxing a request to (513) 891-6685 or writing to:
National U.S. EPA Center for Environmental Publications and Information, 11029 Kenwood Road., Building 5, Cincinnati, OH 45242
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