Technology Users: Technology Description Information

The APCT Center addresses control technologies for both stationary and mobile air pollution sources, as well as the need for indoor air activities. Examples of technology categories are: add-on NOx control devices, baghouse filtration products, dust suppression and soil stabilization products, emulsified fuels, and paint overspray arrestors.

Cleaning and protecting the nation’s water is an enormous task. Under the Clean Water Act, OWM works in partnership with Environment Protection Agency (EPA) regions, states and tribes to regulate discharges into surface waters such as wetlands, lakes, rivers, estuaries, bays and oceans. Specifically, OWM focuses on control of water that is collected in discrete conveyances (also called point sources), including pipes, ditches, and sanitary or storm sewers. OWM is also home to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, the largest water quality funding source, focused on funding wastewater treatment systems, nonpoint source projects and estuary protection.

Direct assistance includes one-on-one discussions about design, operation and maintenance of systems, and the identification and solution of problems. Indirect assistance includes support for the development of regulations; technical information; guidance, assessments, evaluation, and cost estimates for the design, construction, and operation and maintenance of municipal wastewater treatment facilities. Areas of expertise include:

• conventional wastewater treatment and collection systems
• combined sewer overflow treatment and control
• storm water treatment and management
• biological treatment processes
• physical/chemical treatment processes
• advanced treatment processes
• conventional biosolids treatment and reuse procedures
• biosolids technologies
• disinfection and odor control
• alternative collection systems
• decentralized treatment systems, including on-site systems
• land application of effluent and biosolids
• constructed wetlands
• wastewater reuse

For technology fact sheets for innovative and alternative municipal water treatment technologies see:

http://www.epa.gov/OWM/mtb/mtbfact.htm

Control methods include pretreatment, which is the treatment of industrial wastewater before it is released into the water system. Municipal water treatment plants, which are the most common form of water pollution control, control the spread of pollution by screening and filtering wastewater. The EPA also advocates the adoption of more efficient industrial and agricultural methods that reduce the amount of wastewater that is produced by these facilities. New biological treatment techniques such as carbon adsorption and reverse osmosis are also being developed.

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The WQP Center addresses technologies to protect of groundwater and surface water from contamination. It includes two components:

Source Water Protection Technologies--Verifies the performance of commercial-ready technologies that prevent the contamination and maintain the quality of drinking water supplies from both groundwater and surface water sources. Examples of technology categories include: animal waste treatment-solids separation, biomedical waste treatment, decentralized wastewater treatment, in-drain treatment, in-pipe, mercury amalgam separation, residential nutrient reduction, urban infrastructure (including grout, pipe bursting, and pipe liner), and ultraviolet disinfection-secondary effluent/wastewater reuse.

Wet Weather Flow Technologies--Verifies the performance of commercial-ready technologies that control and treat the increased volumes of water from wet weather events runoff, sewers, and wastewater treatment plants. Examples of technology categories include: chemically-enhanced high-rate separation, flow meters, high-rate ultraviolet disinfection, high-rate disinfection (induction mixers), models, non-chemically enhanced/vortex high-rate separation, and source area treatment devices.

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The DWS Center addresses drinking water systems for the treatment of contaminants with potential public health impact. Special emphasis is placed on systems for small communities. Examples of technology categories are: arsenic reduction, disinfection be-product precursor removal, inorganic contaminant reduction, microbiological contaminant reduction, microbiological contaminant inactivation, nitrate reduction, radioactive contaminant reduction, synthetic organic compound reduction, and volatile organic compound reduction.

http://www.epa.gov/etv/centers/index.html

GWRTAC prepares reports by technical teams selectively chosen from Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC), the University of Pittsburgh, and other supporting institutions, and also maintains an active outreach program.

GWRTAC focuses on innovative in situ ground-water and soil remediation technologies as compared to the standard "pump and treat" approach for groundwater, or soil excavation and treatment. Many of the remedial activities summarized within GWRTAC are in situ technologies requiring no ground-water extraction; however, means of enhancing pump and treat are also addressed. GWRTAC includes those remediation technologies which through design and/or application, improve ground-water quality and are integral to ground-water clean-up.

The following technologies are described: http://www.gwrtac.org/html/techs.html

In Situ Physical/Chemical Treatment

• Air Sparging
• Blast-Enhanced Fracturing
• Directional Wells
• Hydraulic and Pneumatic Fracturing
• Ground-Water Recirculation Wells
• In Situ Flushing
• In Situ Stabilization/Solidification
• Permeable Reactive Barriers
• Thermal Enhancements

Biological Treatment

• Bioslurping
• Intrinsic Bioremediation
• Monitored Natural Attenuation
• Phytoremediation

Electrokinetics

FRTR was established in 1990 to bring together top federal cleanup program managers and other remediation community representatives to:

• Share information and learn about technology-related efforts of mutual interest
• Discuss future directions of the national site remediation programs and their impact on the technology market
• Interact with similar state and private industry technology development programs
• Form partnerships to pursue subjects of mutual interest

FRTR members-agencies include U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of the Interior, National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Since its inception, collaborative efforts among the FRTR member agencies have led to technology development and demonstration partnerships with private developers, a more consistent and unified federal approach to technology evaluation and regulatory acceptance, and a variety of technology transfer tools and other information resources.

http://www.frtr.gov/optimization/treatment.htm

In Situ Treatment Technologies - http://www.frtr.gov/optimization/treatment/insitu.htm
(Including: Soil Vapor Extraction/Air Sparging/Bioventing, LNAPL/DNAPL recovery, Permeable Reactive Barriers, Natural Attenuation, Bioremediation/Phytoremediation, Chemical Oxidation, Circulation Wells, Thermal Technology)

Ex Situ Treatment Technologies - http://www.frtr.gov/optimization/treatment/exsitu.htm
(Including: Bioreactors, Air Stripping, Granulated Activated Carbon (GAC)/Liquid Phase Carbon Adsorption, Ion Exchange, Precipitation/Coagulation/Flocculation, Ultraviolet Oxidation, Vapor Phase Carbon Adsorption)

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The Remediation Technologies Development Forum (RTDF) works to develop and improve the environmental technologies needed to address cleanup problems in the safest, most cost-effective manner. The RTDF is a public-private partnership to undertake research, development, demonstration, and evaluation efforts focused on finding innovative solutions to high-priority problems. The RTDF includes partners from industry, several federal and state government agencies, and academia who voluntarily share knowledge, experience, equipment, facilities, and even proprietary technology to achieve common cleanup goals.

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This site includes training schedules for many courses - both classroom and Internet-based.

A list of training courses can be found at: http://www.trainex.org/

OPPTS promotes pollution prevention and the public's right to know about chemicals. OPPTS evaluates pesticides and other chemicals. Evaluating emerging issues such as endocrine disruptors and lead poisoning prevention are top priorities. OPPTS also manages the following programs:

Design for Environment - (http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/dfe/) The Design for the Environment (DfE) program is one of EPA's premier partnership programs. DFE works with individual industry sectors to compare and improve the performance, and human health and environmental risks and costs of existing and alternative products, processes, and practices. DfE partnership projects promote integrating cleaner, cheaper, and smarter solutions into everyday business practices.

Green Buildings - http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/greenbuilding/ As the environmental impact of buildings becomes more apparent, a new field called "green building" is arising to reduce that impact at the source. Green or sustainable building is the practice of creating healthier and more resource-efficient models of construction, renovation, operation, maintenance, and demolition. The many elements of green building include:

Energy- http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/greenbuilding/energy.htm
Water - http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/greenbuilding/water.htm
Materials - http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/greenbuilding/material.htm
Waste - http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/greenbuilding/waste.htm
Indoor Environment - http://www.epa.gov/iaq/

Green Chemistry - To promote innovative chemical technologies that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture, and use of chemical products.
http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/greenchemistry/

Green Engineering - http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/greenengineering/ - Green engineering is the design, commercialization, and use of processes and products that are feasible and economical while minimizing generation of pollution at the source and risk to human health and the environment. The discipline embraces the concept that decisions to protect human health and the environment can have the greatest impact and cost effectiveness when applied early to the design and development phase of a process or product.

NCEI's site highlights recent innovations used by EPA (http://www.epa.gov/innovation/recent.htm); detailed information about EPA's Innovation strategy (http://www.epa.gov/innovation/strategy/index.htm), and related publications on:

• Innovation Strategy
• Innovation Programs and Accomplishments
• Smart Growth
• Stakeholder and Public Involvement
• Partners for the Environment
• Communities
• Environmental Management Systems (EMS)
• Sectors
• Evaluation

NCEI also offers a list of innovations used by EPA national programs in environmental management including many using market based incentives, and public involvement http://www.epa.gov/innovation/programs.htm), and an innovation list serve (http://www.epa.gov/innovation/listserver/) to allow information sharing.

In responding to complex environmental challenges, many member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have devised innovative and often highly successful solutions. As U.S. states and cities seek out new approaches to urban sprawl, non-point source pollution, brownfields, and degraded water infrastructure, they often look to the experiences of other countries as a source of inspiration and to integrate international lessons learned. These exchanges have resulted in innovative initiatives with environmental and economic benefits at the state and local level.

This gateway provides international experiences with multimedia environmental management and sustainability including

• Innovative programs and policies
• Tools and Guidelines
• Databases and Case Studies
• Newsletters, Publication Collections and Reports of Interest

To participate in the technology connection program use the form to electronically submit your announcement or use it as a template and e-mail it to theroux.maggie@epa.gov. CEIT will then place a short announcement in CEIT's electronic newsletter, Envirotech News, which summarizes the nature of the services you seek. Interested companies will respond to CEIT within 7 days by e-mail, and we will compile and forward you the results. Note that CEIT can make the announcements anonymously if requested.

View an example announcement and the responses it generated.

They are intended for use by Superfund and RCRA project managers, researchers, engineers, the public, or anyone who may be looking for technologies to solve site specific hazardous waste problems.

Technology categories include:

• Innovative Technology Research and Development
• Technology Validation / Certification / Commercialization / Demonstration
• Technology Databases
• Technology Publications
• Technology Partnerships
• Specific Applications
• Monitored Natural Attenuation Policy
• Technology Transfer