Land, Waste and Emergency Management Innovations
Year 2010 Innovations Pilots
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2010
- Focused on four priority areas:
- Community Engagement
- Cross Office/Cross Agency
- Green Economy
- Greener Remediation
- Eleven projects were selected:
- Analysis of Vapor Intrusion Data to Establish an Appropriate Perimeter Around a Groundwater Plume for a No Further Vapor Intrusion Assessment Decision
- Applying Social Marketing Techniques to Reduce Wasteful Consumption
- Catalyzing Composting in Urban Communities
- Encouraging Local Green Building Construction and Operation Through Strategic Web Resources
- Fate and Effects of Dumpsite Leachate Contamination on Alaska’s Tribal Drinking Water Sources
- Food Fight: Preventing Food Waste Upstream
- Hydrogen Fuel Cell – Alternative Energy to Power Long Term Groundwater Remedy at Bayou Bonfouca Superfund Site
- Innovative Mine Remediation in the Upper Clear Creek Watershed: Design Analysis and Construction of Chemically Enhanced Best Management Practices (BPMs)
- Mallard North Landfill Innovative Energy Production, Hanover Park, IL
- Simplified Lifecycle Analysis of Recycled Plastic in Electronics
- Sprout City South – A Component of the Smart City Charleston Program; An Innovative Proposal to Build Green Infrastructure and a Green Economy
- Awarded more than $545,000 to innovation projects
Analysis of Vapor Intrusion Data to Establish an Appropriate Perimeter Around a Groundwater Plume for a No Further Vapor Intrusion Assessment Decision
Sponsor: EPA Office of Superfund Remediation & Technology Innovation
Fiscal Year: 2010
Partners: Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, NYDEC, Hill Air Force Base, Navy and USACE
Overview: In support of updating the draft 2002 vapor intrusion (VI) guidance by 2012, OSRTI aims to provide good quality empirical data by analyzing and expanding the existing EPA VI database to better understand the correspondence among ground water, soil, sub slab and indoor vapor concentrations from a spatial, 3-dimensional perspective. The pilot will follow a two-phased approach to develop a screening tool for evaluating sampling data and for defining an appropriate perimeter for VI assessment, using ArcGIS and commercially available statistical packages.
Sponsor: EPA Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery - Fiscal Year: 2010
Partners: U.S. EPA Region 9 and Region 10 and the communities within their States, West Coast Climate and Materials Management Forum
Overview: EPA will identify and refine approaches to discourage wasteful consumption, apply them in one or more pilot communities that would serve as test beds and develop evaluation techniques to measure the results. Region 10 and Headquarters staff ("The Team") will work together to develop messages and incentives targeted at consumers and aimed at appropriate categories of products (e.g., food waste, furniture, electronics). The Regions will have the lead in identifying and enlisting the support of target communities, working with appropriate local officials, and getting buy in from States. Contractor funding will be used for developing, applying and measuring the impact of cutting edge social marketing techniques for reducing wasteful consumption.
Catalyzing Composting in Urban Communities
Sponsor: EPA Region 1 - Fiscal Year: 2010
Partners: Connecticut DEP, Rhode Island DEM, Rhode Island Resource Recovery Recycling Program, Environmental Council of RI Educational Fund, Southside Community Land Trust in Providence RI, University of Connecticut-College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Cooperative Extensive System, City of Bridgeport, Bridgeport Regional Business Council, Nora Goldstein (editor of Biocycle), Green Team, Family Re-entry Inc
Overview: This proposal provides technical assistance to two environmental justice communities, Providence, RI and Bridgeport, CT, to develop an implementation strategy for creating an urban composting system that will provide the needed materials to strengthen food waste recycling infrastructure while also supporting urban agriculture. Use the lessons learned to develop a primer, which is currently unavailable, on the process and information needed for urban composting.
Encouraging Local Green Building Construction and Operation Through Strategic Web Resources
Sponsor: EPA Region 3 - Fiscal Year: 2010
Partners: Pennsylvania Environmental Council, University of Pennsylvania, National League of Cities, U.S. Green Building Council, National Association of Regional Councils, International Code Council, Association of Building Contractors, American Institute of Architects
Overview: This project will develop two web products. The first is a web template that local governments and regional planning commissions can populate with their local rules, laws or codes that require or incentivize sustainable building practices. It will create a one- stop resource for residents and contractors engaged in construction or rehab projects to learn about a community’s specific environmental requirements or opportunities. Two communities in Regions 3 and 4 will pilot the new tool. Additionally, the project will create a web page that fully automates the Sustainable Design and Green Building Toolkit for Local Governments (2008 IWG funded project). This will expand the functionality of the Toolkit and create a first of its kind web resource.
Fate and Effects of Dumpsite Leachate Contamination on Alaska’s Tribal Drinking Water Sources
Sponsor: EPA Region 10 - Fiscal Year: 2010
Partners: EPA ORD, tribal village communities, the University of Alaska (Fairbanks and Anchorage)
Overview: This proposal is an Alaska statewide effort to characterize microbial and chemical contaminants that may be found within Alaska’s 200 plus tribal open dumps and evaluate the effects of these contaminants on local drinking water sources. This project takes EPA’s government to government working relationship to a new level by developing tribal technical abilities as full research partners.
Food Fight: Preventing Food Waste Upstream
Sponsor: EPA Region 9 - Fiscal Year: 2010
Partner: Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Overview: This project will promote upstream food waste reduction and recovery at the largest food waste generator venues: tribal casinos, hotels, restaurants, stadiums, and hospitals. EPA Region 9 will create a food waste audit tool, develop a template for a Food Waste Assessment and Management Plan, pilot the tools and food waste source reduction projects at a casino/resort, and publicize the tools at a national level.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell – Alternative Energy to Power Long Term Groundwater Remedy at Bayou Bonfouca Superfund Site
Sponsor: EPA Region 6 - Fiscal Year: 2010
Partners: Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, City of Slidell, LA, EPA Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization
Overview: This project will conduct a full scale hydrogen fuel cell technology pilot study to evaluate the effectiveness of utilizing hydrogen fuel cell technology to power the long term ground water remedy at the Bayou Bonfouca Superfund site in Slidell, Louisiana. At the conclusion of the one year trial period, EPA's contractor will provide three deliverables aimed at evaluating and measuring the feasibility of utilizing a hydrogen fuel cell to power the pump and treat system.
Innovative Mine Remediation in the Upper Clear Creek Watershed: Design Analysis and Construction of Chemically Enhanced Best Management Practices (BPMs)
Sponsor: EPA Region 8 - Fiscal Year: 2010
Partners: U.S. EPA Region 8 Superfund, Watershed and LEEDS Technology divisions, Frontier Environmental Services INC, Clear Creek Watershed Foundation
Overview: The purpose of this project is to construct the first complete module of a state-of-the-art sulfate-reducing bioreactor mine drainage treatment system, which incorporates lime buffered-organic substrate and anoxic limestone drain elements. The project area is Superfund Study Area in the upper portion of the Clear Creek Watershed just west of Denver, Colorado.
Mallard North Landfill Innovative Energy Production, Hanover Park, IL
Sponsor: EPA Region 5 - Fiscal Year: 2010
Partners: U.S. EPA removal, remedial and RCRA programs, DuPage County Forest Preserve District
Overview: The project will evaluate and test the feasibility of using a solar membrane on an approximately 1-acre portion of the 50-acre landfill in Mallard North Landfill, Illinois, and using a modified microturbine to harness methane emissions for use in powering the gas and leachate collection systems on-site.
Simplified Lifecycle Analysis of Recycled Plastic in Electronics
Sponsor: EPA Region 9 - Fiscal Year: 2010
Partners: OCSPP – Pollution Prevention Division, OCSPP – Design for the Environment (DfE) program, Sustainable Products Network, Green Electronics Council (GEC), The Sustainable Consortium (TSC), University of Tennessee – Center for Clean Products and Clean Technologies (UT)
Overview: This project explores the environmental tradeoffs involved in using post-consumer recycled plastics in consumer electronics. This project would develop a streamlined LCA methodology to help manufacturers, suppliers, and purchasers better understand these tradeoffs and make better environmental choices. Expected outputs would be a summary of the data around lifecycle benefits and challenges of recycled plastics, pertinent LCA parameters to explore when making decisions about plastic components, and an easy-to-use tool or tools to inform decision-making with LCA data.
Sprout City South – A Component of the Smart City Charleston Program; An Innovative Proposal to Build Green Infrastructure and a Green Economy
Sponsor: EPA Region 4 - Fiscal Year: 2010
Partners: U.S. EPA Region 4: P2, Water and RCRA, Clemson University, the City of Charleston, USDA Extension in SC
Overview: This project is a feasibility study to develop a vertical farm (i.e., tiered farm) in Charleston, SC using existing building stock. Based on existing research, no vertical farms have successfully been transformed from concept and design into an actual functioning vertical farm. The study will include information on funding and innovative financing options for municipalities and expected long term operational budgets. An integral component of the proposal is to convene a few design charrettes with neighborhoods with particular attention paid to underserved neighborhoods and youth.