United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Research and
Development
Cincinnati, OH 45268
EPA/625/F-00/003
April 2000
www.epa.gov/oust/mtbe
AEPA Request for Applications to
Demonstrate Technologies to Treat
Methyl-f-Butyl Ether (MTBE)
Fact Sheet and Order Information
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing
a Request for Applications (RFA) to Demonstrate Technologies
to Treat Methyls-Butyl Ether (MTBE) for field demonstrations
of MTBE treatment technologies. The RFA will be available in
mid April 2000 at
Applicants will have approximately 6 weeks to submit proposals.
This announcement describes the purpose of the demonstration,
the demonstration host site, the technology selection process, and
the tentative project schedule.
Background
EPA1 is engaged in an effort to demonstrate and verify the cost
and performance of drinking water treatment technologies and
site cleanup methods for MTBE and its by products. The focus of
the field demonstrations is to conduct evaluations of field
technologies and processes for treatment of drinking water and
for groundwater/aquifer materials at the contamination source.
The drinking water technologies demonstrated will be above-
ground (ex situ) and the aquifer cleanup technologies may be
either ex situ (e.g., bioreactor) or in situ (e.g., bioremediation).
The results of the evaluations will provide reliable engineering,
performance, and cost information for treatment decision makers
and technology vendors.
Demonstration Host Site
EPA has selected the Naval Construction Battalion Center (CBC)
Port Hueneme, California to host demonstrations of both drinking
water and aquifer treatment technologies. The aquifer treatment
demonstration will take place at the Naval Exchange (NEX)
Service Station site on CBC Port Hueneme. Based on NEX
Gasoline Station inventory records, approximately 4,000 gallons
of leaded gasoline and 6,800 gallons of premium unleaded
gasoline containing MTBE were released from product delivery
lines into the subsurface between September 1984 and March
1985. The area considered to be the source area consists of a 9-
acre MTBE plume with the BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene,
ethylbenzene, and isomersof xylene) extending more than 1,200
feet from the release site. The MTBE dissolved plume extends
another 36 acres. The plume is located primarily under open
hardstands parade ground, parking lots, and storage areas.
The Agency has formed a workgroup to plan and conduct the
field evaluations. This workgroup consists of staff in the following EPA
offices: National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL);
Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) Office of
Underground Storage Tanks and the Technology Innovation Office;
Office of Water (OW); Office of Air and Radiation (OAR); and Region
9. hi addition, the California Water Quality Resources Control Board,
California Department of Health Services, and Los Angeles Regional
Water Quality Board are participating on the workgroup.
The geology at the site consists of unconsolidated sands, silts, and
clays with minor amounts of gravel and fill material. A shallow
semi-perched aquifer is the uppermo st groundwater unit. This
unit is contained within the first three depositional soil units,
which consist of an upper silty sand unit, an underlying fine- to
coarse-grained sand unit, and a basal clay unit. The NEX plume
is confined within this aquifer and is within 22 feet of the
ground surface. For ex-situ treatment technologies,
contaminated groundwater can be delivered to the technology
system at up to 10 gallons per minute.
Technology Selection
A panel of technology and MTBE experts will select up to a
total of six technology vendors to demonstrate drinking water
and aqu ifer treatme nt. Both in -situ and ex -situ techno logies will
be considered. This RFA is open to all technology types
including biological, chemical, physical and thermal treatment.
The tentative schedule for the RFA process is below:
Milestone
Date
* RFA available
* Proposals due
* Technology selection completed
* Begin field demonstrations
Mid April 2000
Late May 2000
Late June 2000
September 2000
The length of field application will depend on the types of
technolo gies selected. Demo nstrations m ay requ ire up to
approximately one year. Technology vendors will be
responsible for installing and operating their technology at the
site for the duration of the demonstration. More information on
responsibilities and technology selection criteria are contained
in the RFA.
Funding Mechanism
The funding mechanism will be in the form of a Cooperative
Research and Development Agreement (CRDA). Funds are not
exchan ged betw een EP A and th e techno logy sup plier. Prior to
the demonstration, the technology supplier(s) and EPA sign the
no-funds CRDA, which defines the areas of responsibility.
The RFA (EPA/600/F-O 0/007) will be available in mid April
2000 at . §ee
the website for updates on the schedule. Hard copy will be
available from the U.S. EPA/National Service Center for
Environmental Publications, P.O. Box 42419, Cincinnati, OH
45242, Telephone: (513) 489-8190 or (800) 490-9198,
Facsimile: (513)489-8695.
Contact
For more information about this RFA only, contact:
Dr. Carl Enfield, 513-569-7489, enfield.carl@epa.gov
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AERft
United States
Environmental Protection Agency
National Service Center for
Environmental Publications
P.O. Box 42419
Cincinnati, OH 45242
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
EPA/625/F-00/003
April 2000
REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS TO
DEMONSTRATE TECHNOLOGIES TO TREAT
METHYL-f-BUTYL ETHER (MTBE)
Fact Sheet and Order Information
Order Form
To order Request for Applications to Demonstrate Techno logics to Treat Methyl-t-Butyl Ether (MTBE) (EPA/600/F-00/007),
please call 1-800-490-9198, or complete this form and mail or fax itto:
National Service Center for Environmental Publications
P.O. Box 42419
Cincinnati, OH 45242
Fax: (513) 489-8695
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