SUMMARY OF THE REMEDIATION TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPMENT FORUM
PERMEABLE REACTIVE BARRIERS ACTION TEAM
STEERING COMMITTEE CONFERENCE CALL

11:00 a.m. to Noon
August 19, 1997

On August 19, 1997, members of the Permeable Reactive Barriers Action Team Steering Committee of the Remediation Technologies Development Forum (RTDF) met in a conference call. The following members were present:

Bob Puls (Co-chair)
Stan Morrison
Liyuan Liang
Rich Steimle
Rich Landis
Tim Sivavec

Also present was Ben Carlisle of Eastern Research Group, Inc. (ERG).

SEPTEMBER MEETING

The Permeable Reactive Barriers Action Team is scheduled to meet from September 18 to 19, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Bob Puls said that a small conference room has been reserved for the evening of September 17, so that the Steering Committee can gather before the general meeting. According to the tentative plan, Steering Committee members will meet from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. on September 17, then continue their discussion over dinner. ERG will notify Committee members about the finalized plans by e-mail.

Puls said that the agenda for the Action Team meeting is pretty well set. One final item--a presentation by Matt Turner, chair of the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Cooperation (ITRC) Work Group--was recently added to the agenda.

UPDATE ON ITRC DOCUMENT

Puls said that several Steering Committee members provided comments for the second revision of the ITRC document on regulatory considerations for permeable reactive barriers (PRBs). Puls and former Co-chair Dale Schultz assembled the comments that they received, and submitted them to the ITRC; most of these comments have been incorporated into the final draft (which, Puls said, is not quite finished). Other Steering Committee members submitted their comments directly to the ITRC. Puls will participate in one last conference call with the ITRC on August 20, and will try to incorporate the last few comments he has received.

Puls said that most people who have read the second draft feel it is much improved, and he believes the final draft should be better still. Puls has told the ITRC that the Permeable Reactive Barriers Action Team will endorse the final document; any Steering Committee member who doesn't approve of that decision should say so soon. The final document should be available at the Action Team's September meeting.

UPDATE ON PRB RESEARCH PROPOSALS

The Steering Committee is assembling a PRB research proposal. Puls said that the current goal is to finalize the proposal, then distribute it to such groups as the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). No work has been done on the proposal lately, Puls said, but he hopes that it will be finished within the next week or so.

Liyuan Liang then described a proposal that Oak Ridge National Laboratory had submitted to DOE several months ago, concerning work on PRB technology. At first, Liang said, DOE had asked for an interagency proposal. Recently, however, DOE had delayed funding--perhaps until 1999--though DOE continues to express interest in the work. Meanwhile, Liang said, DOE has asked her to begin planning what work would be done under an integrated proposal, even if the extent of the work will now be scaled back.

Puls recommended meeting on the evening of September 17 to discuss Liang's proposal. (This meeting could be a part of the Steering Committee's meeting, or separate from it, Puls suggested.) He said that an opportunity exists to initiate discussion between the Steering Committee and those three agencies--DOD, DOE, and EPA. If they could all sit down and hammer out a coherent PRB research strategy, Puls said, the Steering Committee might be able to secure funding from all three sources.

Stan Morrison asked Puls to clarify the criteria for including particular research projects in the work of the Action Team. How do RTDF members and the funding agencies benefit from these projects, Morrison asked, and what are the responsibilities of those involved?

Puls said that, over the past months, the Steering Committee has identified major research goals in the field of PRB technology. These goals--to further the development, acceptance, and application of the technology--are virtually identical to the stated goals of the RTDF. Puls said that the Steering Committee has also identified several primary research needs, including the need for additional data on the long-term performance of PRBs, and the need for research that predicts both the rate of precipitate formation and at what point this formation begins to adversely impact PRB performance.

Last year, the three agencies--DOD, DOE, EPA--and various individuals all developed their own proposals for PRB research, each identifying their own small area of interest. It was the RTDF, Puls said, that singled out this concentration on long-term performance; Liang's proposal addresses long-term performance, but also some other issues specific to Oak Ridge. Now the opportunity exists to bring these groups together, identify research needs, and come up with a unified proposal that not only addresses RTDF perceived research needs, but also the needs of the other groups. If this could be done, Puls said, a proposal could go forward that is larger in scope, has more money behind it, and has a variety of "good" people working on it. Given time, Puls may be able to identify a source of funds at EPA, so that EPA has something to contribute to the project. He said that it sounds like DOE and DOD are ready to contribute but would like to see EPA make a matching contribution.

Morrison then asked if the integrated proposal would cover any topic other than long-term performance. Puls said that the potential exists to expand on the topics currently being considered, and that a variety of people could play a variety of roles. Morrison stated that the Steering Committee tends to concentrate more on organics than on metals/radionuclides, and that research into long-term performance won't cover certain, common issues concerning radionuclides, such as reactivity, oxidation, and by-products. Puls stated that if Morrison wants to "take a crack" at identifying the issues that concern him and other parts of DOE, Puls would be happy to represent Morrison's interests at the September meeting.

MEMBERSHIP ON THE STEERING COMMITTEE

Liang announced that she will be leaving her job at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and moving to Wales. She will be unable to continue participating as a member of the Steering Committee. Puls asked the Committee members how they would like to go about replacing her. Rich Steimle suggested that the Committee continue to maintain a blend of major stakeholders from academia, the federal government, and private industry. Liang suggested two possible replacements, both of whom work at Oak Ridge and have contacts within DOE: Tom Early (who works on DOE programs) and Gary Jacobs (a manager at the Oak Ridge lab). The Committee members agreed that Liang would invite Early and/or Jacobs to participate at the September meeting, and that Liang would continue working with the Steering Committee for a few months to help with the transition.

Puls said that he had recently communicated with Robert Orth of Monsanto to ask if Orth wants to continue in his role as a member of the Steering Committee. Puls said it was likely that Orth would step down, and asked the Committee members how they would like to go about replacing him. Tim Sivavec pointed out that there are only two industry representatives currently participating on the Steering Committee: himself and Rich Landis. Puls said that the Committee is also looking for a representative from industry to fill Schultz's position as co-chair. He then asked if anyone could identify another industrial entity--Motorola, perhaps, or Xerox--that might want to participate. Puls said he would ask Orth if anyone else at Monsanto might be interested, and Sivavec said he would ask around at the upcoming Waterloo Consortium meeting. Puls and Sivavec agreed that the ideal company would not just be interested in PRB technology, but would be committed to using and improving it.

Puls then suggested that perhaps DOD should have a representative on the Steering Committee, and asked for recommendations. After some discussion, the Committee settled on three possible candidates.

PRB ISSUE PAPER

Puls said that drafts for the issue paper were due at the end of July. Thus far, about half of the authors have submitted their sections. Puls still hopes that a first draft can be completed before the September meeting, so that it can be circulated within the RTDF (primarily within the Steering Committee) and also among other groups who might provide useful comments (e.g., Program Offices, EPA Regional Forums). Puls said that the paper should be distributed within EPA and to appropriate people at DOE and DOD.

FINAL COMMENTS

Liang requested that Puls draft an agenda, covering such topics as the interagency proposal, for the September 17 gathering of the Steering Committee.

Puls said that Scott Warner was unable to participate in the conference call, due to other obligations. Puls then read several comments that Warner had sent to him. Warner would like to hear some discussion on refocusing the Steering Committee's mission, and he would like to see the Committee expand its interests, beyond zero-valent iron, to include other reactive media and other contaminants.

Puls said that, thus far, approximately 30 people have registered for the September meeting.