Saving Time and Money:
The Brownfields and Land Revitalization
About the BTSC
The Brownfields and Land Revitalization Technology Support
Center (BTSC, formerly the Brownfields Technology Support
Center) provides technical support to federal, state, local, and
tribal officials for questions related to the use of innovative
technologies and strategies for site assessment and cleanup.
Since beginning operations in the Fall of 1998, the BTSC has
responded to nearly 100 requests for site-specific support at
Brownfields sites and, more recently, Superfund sites. The
types of services provided by the BTSC include:
• Providing project strategy consultation and facilitating
systematic project planning
• Reviewing documents, including requests for proposals, work
plans, field sampling plans, and other project documents
• Providing information about the use of innovative and field-
based technologies for site investigation and cleanup
Innovative technologies and strategies, such as the Triad
Approach, are used to streamline redevelopment by lowering
investigation and cleanup costs and decreasing project
time frames. The Triad Approach is a systematic approach
synthesizing practitioner experience, lessons learned, and
technology advancement into a next-generation framework of
cost-effective management of contaminated sites.
BTSC Partners
The BTSC is a cooperative effort to provide technical support
to federal, state, local, and tribal officials for matters related
to the use of technologies for site assessment and cleanup.
Partners in the BTSC include the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response
(OSWER) and Office of Research and Development (ORD);
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and Argonne National
Laboratory. As a BTSC partner, EPA's Brownfields Program
helps to identify support needed by EPA's Brownfields Program
participants.
EPA Contact:
EPA Office of Superfund Remediation
and Technology Innovation
Phone: (703) 603-9904
E-mail: pachon.carlos@epa.gov
Are traditional site assessment and cleanup approaches
too time-consuming and expensive to support the
redevelopment of your site? Are you:
• Seeking strategic-level project guidance?
• Looking for review support of project documents,
such as requests for proposals, work plans, field
sampling plans, or quality assurance project
plans?
• Considering the potential for incorporating one
or more elements of the Triad Approach?
• Looking for information on field-based technologies
for site assessment and cleanup?
• Looking to incorporate dynamic work strategies and
decision support tools during site assessment?
• Evaluating remedial technologies and their
advantages and limitations in light of site-specific
features and needs?
• Seeking guidance on site reuse, sustainability, or
incorporating green remediation elements into
site restoration?
• Seeking information to provide to technical and
nontechnical stakeholders?
The BTSC May Be Able to Help You!
www. brownfieldstsc. org
Contact us toll-free: (877) 838-7220
Requesting Support from the BTSC
Federal, state, and local government personnel, EPA
personnel, Brownfields grantees, and tribes may request site-
specific support for Brownfields sites from the BTSC at no
cost. In addition, while EPA's Brownfields Program supports
Brownfields program participants, the BTSC also provides site
technical and information support for Superfund, RCRA, and
USTsite investigation and cleanup through EPA's Technology
Innovation and Field Services Divison (TIFSD). Support may
be requested online, through EPA's regional offices, or via the
toll-free telephone number listed above.
www. brownfieldstsc. org
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Direct Support Available from the BTSC
Strategy and Planning Support
Planning support includes strategic consultation and planning for the use of innovative technologies and strategies, such as
the Triad Approach, at a specific Brownfields or Land Revitalization site. Support includes evaluating available documents
to assess how to incorporate the elements and best management practices (BMPs) of Triad, such as real-time measurement
technologies, and can include activities related to planning for procurement under a Triad Approach or use of decision
support tools such as Field Environmental Decision Support (FIELDS), Spatial Analysis Decision Assistance (SADA), Visual
Sampling Plan (VSP), or Scribe.
Document Reviews
Document reviews include technical reviews of requests for proposals (RFP), sampling and analysis plans (SAP), quality
assurance project plans (QAPP), feasibility studies, engineering designs, or work plans. The BTSC evaluates the documents
with regard to technology options, implementation processes, use of the Triad Approach, and other appropriate elements.
Technology Scoping for Site Assessment or Investigation Technologies and for Cleanup
Technologies
Technology scoping includes preparing lists of potentially applicable technologies along with brief analyses of their advantages
and disadvantages under specific conditions at a site and in light of the specific features and needs of a site. This function is
not a formal review or approval process, but can provide decision makers with preliminary information in support of decisions
or approvals.
Technology Descriptions
Technology descriptions include brief (several pages)
"layman's" guides describing a specific technology or
technique. The guides can assist decision makers in fully
understanding the principles of the technology (along with
its cost and the time necessary to implement it) and assist
them in communicating the appropriateness of a technology
to constituents and stakeholders.
Review of Literature and Electronic Resources
Literature and resource reviews include available information
resources for technologies or classes of technologies relevant
to specific decisions at a site. The purpose of the reviews
is to allow stakeholders an opportunity to broaden their
understanding of the technology options available for use at
their sites.
Demonstration Planning Support
Drawing upon the expertise of the EPA Superfund Innovative
Technologies Evaluation (SITE) program, the BTSC provides
planning assistance and technical review capabilities to
localities that are seeking to arrange demonstrations and
evaluations of innovative sampling, analytical, or treatment
technologies.
Recommendation of innovative
investigation and cleanup approaches
• Evaluation of renewable energy potential,
technologies, financing, and partnerships
• Assessment of environmental footprints
• Integration of site reuse into remediation
strategies
• Facilitating consideration and use of Green
Remediation into remedial design and
implementation
• Facilitation of Systematic Project Planning
• Review or development of:
- Conceptual Site Models (CSM)
- Dynamic Work Strategies (DWS)
• Review of remedial designs
• Incorporation of Sustainable Reuse and
Ecological Revitalization best management
practices
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Information Resources Available from the BTSC
The BTSC has many resources available on the Web site www.brownfieldstsc.org. The BTSC has prepared
the following information resources to assist Brownfields and Land Revitalization decision makers identify
and select innovative site characterization and cleanup technologies for redevelopment.
Search Sites
Information on BTSC projects at Brownfields and other Land Revitalization sites is available within this
section of the BTSC Web site.
News and Events
This section of the BTSC Web site contains pertinent Brownfields and other Land Revitalization information
from EPA and upcoming related events.
Procurement Corner
Procurement Corner provides information about the procurement of innovative technologies and
strategies. Procurement Corner includes resources that discuss the methods and strategies that have
been successfully used to procure services under a Triad Approach-based project as well as procurement
in support of innovative technologies and strategies. Specific examples of procurement-related materials
relevant to the implementation of Triad BMPs are included from federally-funded and federally-managed
projects, as well as projects managed by states, local governments, and private site owners.
Resources
The BTSC provides links to a variety of publications, online resources, and other related Web sites. Some
recent resources that have been developed by the BTSC include:
Road Map to Understanding Innovative Technology Options for Brownfields
Investigation and Cleanup, Fourth Edition (EPA 542-B-05-001)
EPA produced the fourth edition of this publication to assist a broad audience of Brownfields
stakeholders in identifying and selecting innovative site characterization and cleanup technologies
during the redevelopment process. An interactive online version of the Road Map is available at
www.brownfieldstsc.org/roadmap/home.cfm.
Brownfields Technology Primer: Vapor Intrusion Considerations for
Redevelopment (EPA 542-R-08-001)
This primer provides an overview of vapor intrusion and how it can affect redevelopment.
Green Remediation: Incorporating Sustainable Environmental Practices into
Remediation of Contaminated Sites (EPA 542-R-08-002)
This primer presents an overview of techniques and technologies used to incorporate sustainable
practices into site remediation.
Demonstrations of Method Applicability under a Triad Approach for Site
Assessment and Cleanup — Technology Bulletin (EPA 542-F-08-006)
This bulletin provides an overview of key aspects of Demonstrations of Method Applicability when
using the Triad Approach for site assessment and cleanup.
All information resources available from the BTSC, as well as access to direct support, are available online at WWW.
brownfieldstsc.org
BTSC publications are available at
www.brownfieldstsc.org/publications.cfm.
Printed or hard copy versions of the publications are available
through EPA's National Service Center for Environmental
Publications (NSCEP). Documents may be ordered from
NSCEP online, by telephone, or by facsimile. Please include the
EPA document numbers of all publications ordered.
NSCEP National Service Center for Environmental Publications
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
P.O. Box 42419
Cincinnati, OH 45242
Telephone: (800) 490-9198
Telephone: (513) 489-8190 (Government Employees)
Fax: (513) 489-8695
www.epa.gov/ncepihom
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Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5102G)
Current BTSC Focus Areas
EPA-542-F-10-001
January 2010
www.epa.gov/tio
Materials
& Waste
Energy
Core
Land & Elements
Ecosystems
Water
Air
Green Remediation
The practice of considering all environmental effects of remedy implementation and
incorporating options to minimize the environmental footprints of cleanup actions.
Through green remediation, site-specific conservation benefits are compared for
different cleanup strategies and the environmental trade-offs of those strategies are
weighed.
Vapor Intrusion
The migration of volatile chemical vapors from the subsurface to overlying buildings.
Vapor intrusion occurs when dissolved contamination in groundwater volatilizes,
migrates as vapor into overlying vadose zone, enters structures through floor and
wall cracks, becomes trapped inside enclosed space, and exposes occupants to
indoor air contamination.
Reuse / Revitalization
Restoring contaminated and potentially contaminated sites to productive use. Reuse
and revitalization aims to follow a process in which comprehensive planning leads to
project success and effectively integrated solutions ensure sustainability.
Triad Approach / Best Management Practices
An approach used to manage project and site decision uncertainty that results in
increased confidence that decisions about contaminant presence, location, fate,
exposure, and risk reduction choices and design are made correctly and cost-
effectively. The Triad best management practices (BMPs) include systematic project
planning, dynamic work strategies, and real-time measurement technologies.
Training
Through EPA's Technology Innovation and Field Services Division, the BTSC provides
training related to the investigation and cleanup of hazardous waste sites to the federal
government, tribal governments, states and territories, local governments, academia,
and the private sector (hazardous waste consultants). Courses are delivered through
classroom training, Internet seminars, and self-directed learning.
Accomplishments
Responded to nearly 200 requests for information and site technical support in 30 states, from New
Jersey to California
Provided direct site support to more than 70 sites
Created technology bulletins, primers, and other publications such as the Brownfields Road Map
that have become valuable resources
Helped to train and educate hundreds of stakeholders
Worked with towns, cities, states, EPA regions, and Tribes in developing cleanup solutions
Advanced the state of the practice technologies and techniques to build capacity for the timely and cost
effective cleanup and reuse of Brownfields sites, including use of green remediation strategies
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