[CPEO-MEF] High-level feds speak at ITRC annual meeting

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

For Immediate Release

Contact: Roseanne Black, (540) 557-6101, roseanne_black@wpi.org


High-level feds speak at ITRC annual meeting

Speaking at the annual fall meeting of an organization of state
regulators, three high-level federal officials emphasized the importance
of working cooperatively with the Interstate Technology and Regulatory
Council
(ITRC) to meet their agencies' environmental cleanup challenges. ITRC
met last week in Washington, D.C. to strengthen its members' commitment
to innovative cleanup technologies and to broaden its ties to federal
partners.

The centerpiece of a plenary session on November 7 was addresses by
Marianne Horinko, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Solid Waste
and Emergency Response with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency;
Jessie Roberson, Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management with
the U.S.
Department of Energy; and Maureen Koetz, Deputy Assistant Secretary of
Environment, Safety
& Occupational Health with the U.S. Air Force.

Marianne Horinko called on ITRC's assistance in addressing two EPA
priorities: the One Cleanup program and land revitalization. The One
Cleanup program, which strives to clarify and standardize cleanup
policies
across federal agencies and among states, can benefit from ITRC's
experience in testing new ideas, bringing states and tribes together to
focus on the regulatory issues involved in the adoption of new
environmental
technologies, and integrating lessons learned. On the land
revitalization front, Horinko said that EPA needs to work in partnership
with ITRC and other groups to ensure that contaminated sites have a
realistic path
toward return to economic productivity.

Maureen Koetz emphasized the Department of Defense's challenge to meet
its national security mission in the face of competing environmental and
financial risks. She identified technologies as critical in managing the

environmental risks inherent in maintaining the country's national
defense capability. Declaring that increased knowledge is the goal of
both the Air Force and the ITRC, Koetz said, "We need your technology
application knowledge and look forward to your help in guiding us in
getting cleanup expedited. We want to turn dirt." Koetz expressed
appreciation that two current teams, the Remedial Process Optimization
Team and the Diffusion Samplers Team, are focusing on DoD needs.

Jessie Roberson also acknowledged several ways ITRC has benefited DOE.
In redefining the EM mission to close sites and to develop alternative
baselines for reducing risks, Roberson credited the cooperation of state

regulators, who are vital to EM's new approach. She also credited ITRC's
technical and regulatory guidance documents with streamlining decision
making, especially with regard to groundwater. ITRC analysis provides a
"basis upon which to conclude that a technology is cost-effective and a
worthwhile expenditure of taxpayers' dollars." Roberson asked ITRC to
expand its guidance to include a clear delineation of cleanup
objectives, performance metrics, and treatment technology end points and
to clarify exit strategies-"to inform us when we should transition from
treatment to monitoring, and even when to stop monitoring."

ITRC is a state-led group that works to overcome regulatory barriers to
the deployment of innovative environmental technologies. ITRC
participants come from the ranks of state regulatory agencies, federal
agencies concerned with environmental cleanup, environmental consulting
firms, and technology
vendors. These diverse ITRC participants work together in technical
teams to develop documents and training to help regulators develop a
consistent and streamlined approach for regulating innovative
technologies. ITRC products also help environmental consultants improve
the way innovative technologies
are deployed.

The ITRC Board of Directors is cochaired by Brian C. Griffin
(bcgriffin@owrb.state.ok.us <mailto:bcgriffin@owrb.state.ok.us>),
Oklahoma's
Secretary of Environment, and G. Ken Taylor (taylorgk@dhec.state.sc.us
<mailto:taylorgk@columb34.dhec.state.sc.us>), director of the
Hydrogeology
Division of South Carolina's Bureau of Land and Waste Management.

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