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The EPA began developing sustainable strategies for remediating hazardous waste sites in 2006, and since then has worked with stakeholders nationwide to further refine best management practices and technologies. In short, the EPA defines “green remediation” as, “The practice of considering all environmental effects of remedy implementation and incorporating options to maximize net environmental benefit of cleanup actions.”
Overall, the goal is to incorporate sustainability principles into every step of the process beginning with decision making through implementation and on to site reuse. At the same time, cleanup efforts must still comply with all applicable regulatory requirements and meet site-specific remediation goals. To do this, the EPA identified six core elements that should be considered:
1) Energy required for treatment technologies:
- Passive-energy technologies that meet cleanup needs but require little or no external utility power,
- Energy-efficient equipment that is maintained to maximize efficiency,
- Periodic evaluation and optimization of equipment with high energy demands, and
- Renewable energy systems to provide all or part of electricity requirements.
2) Air emissions:
- Minimized use of heavy equipment that uses high volumes of fuel,
- Use of cleaner fuels and/or retrofit diesel engines,
- Reduce atmospheric release of toxic or priority pollutants, and
- Minimize contaminated dust.
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3) Water requirements and impacts:
- Minimized use of fresh water and maximized water reuse in processes,
- Reclaim treated water for beneficial use (e.g., irrigation),
- Using native vegetation requiring little or no irrigation, and
- Prevent water quality impacts on nearby water bodies.
4) Land and ecosystem impacts:
- Use minimally invasive on-site technologies,
- Use passive energy options like bioremediation and phytoremediation,
- Minimize soil and habitat disturbance,
- Minimize bioavailability of contaminants through contaminant source and plume controls, and
- Minimize noise and lighting disturbance.
5) Material consumption and waste generation:
- Use technologies that minimize waste generation,
- Re-use materials,
- Recycle materials generated at or removed from the site,
- Minimize natural resource removal/disposal, and
- Use passive sampling devices producing minimal waste, where feasible.
6) Long-term stewardship:
- Reduce emissions of hazardous air pollutants and greenhouse gases,
- Integrate adaptive management into long-term site controls,
- Install renewable energy systems to power long-term cleanup and future activities on redeveloped land,
- Use passive sampling devices for long-term monitoring, and
- Encourage community involvement to increase awareness of long-term activities and restrictions.
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With those primary goals in mind, the EPA also recommends defining the “footprint” of remediation, or the extent of the demand the cleanup actions will place on the environment. In 2012, the EPA published its “Methodology to Address the Environmental Footprint of Site Cleanup” and established core elements and metrics for assessing environmental footprints that include:
- Materials and waste including different types of refined and unrefined materials used, as well as hazardous and nonhazardous waste disposed of off-site and the potential for its reuse or recycling,
- Water used on-site, including its source, use, and fate combination,
- Energy used, including any derived from renewable resources (e.g., on-site generation/use, biodiesel use, renewable electricity purchased, and renewable energy certificates purchased), and
- Air emissions, including on-site and total emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), particulate matter (PM), total hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), and total greenhouse gases (GHGs).
Also included in the Methodology are appendices containing a wealth of information from EPA’s pilot projects, available from the EPA at http://www.clu-in.org/greenremediation/methodology. Another important resource is ASTM International’s final Standard Guide for Greener Cleanups (E2893-13) that was issued in November 2013, which was developed in cooperation with EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER), regional offices, and state agencies.