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

Holiday Inn Select
Niagara Falls, New York
October 15, 2003

On Wednesday, October 15, 2003, the following members of the Remediation Technologies Development Forum's (RTDF's) Permeable Reactive Barriers (PRB) Action Team Steering Committee met:

Bob Puls, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
John Vidumsky, DuPont
Bob Gillham, University of Waterloo
Tom Krug, GeoSyntec
Chuck Reeter, U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center
Richard Steimle, EPA
Michelle Thomson, URS Corporation

David Hubble of ACG Geo & Environmental and Christine Hartnett of ERG were also present. In addition, Pete Riddle of Environmental Management Support, Inc., participated via conference call.

UPDATE ON THE PRB PROFILES

Pete Riddle is updating the PRB Action Team's Site Profile database. This effort involves:

• Updating the existing profiles. More than 50 site profiles are already posted on the PRB Action Team's Web site. Each profile has a designated point of contact (POC) who is supposed to update the profile at least once every 2 years. Earlier in 2003, Riddle sent e-mails to all the POCs asking them to update the existing site profiles. Of those contacted, only nine submitted information in response to Riddle's request. Riddle has used that information to revise nine profiles. Bob Puls asked Riddle to let Steering Committee members review the revised profiles before re-posting them on the PRB Action Team Web site. Puls said that the Steering Committee should help Riddle get the updated information he requires. Some of the information, Puls said, might be embedded in an Excel spreadsheet that was recently sent to Riddle. Riddle agreed to review the spreadsheet and incorporate any relevant material. In the near future, Chuck Reeter said, Riddle should receive updated information on eight Department of Defense sites. Riddle asked for guidance on what to do if a POC fails to contact him with updated information. Steering Committee members agreed that any site that has not received an update over the last 4 years should be archived. Before taking this step, Riddle will send Steering Committee members a list of the site profiles that are slated for archiving.



• Adding new profiles. Riddle knows of 16 new sites that might be good candidates for case study. He will start developing site profiles for them, and he will release the new profiles to Steering Committee members in batches. Rich Steimle recommended prioritizing the order in which EMS writes the profiles. For example, he recommended focusing first on sites that have used unique installation techniques.

GENERATING COST OF PERFORMANCE REPORTS

As noted by Riddle, EPA's John Kingscott and John Quander have expressed interest in generating cost of performance reports for PRBs. When writing such reports, Steering Committee members agreed, it is important to focus on new PRB sites. This is because the costs associated with PRBs has decreased significantly over time. Old PRB sites provide valuable information about PRB performance, said Puls, but they yield outmoded information on costs.

REVISITING THE PRB ACTION TEAM'S PURPOSE AND MISSION

Puls asked Steering Committee members whether they thought it was time to sunset the PRB Action Team. In 1995, when the PRB Action Team first formed, he noted, PRB technology was in its infancy and the PRB Action Team played an important role in furthering the development of this technology. The situation is different now: PRBs have gained a strong foothold and many people regard them as a well-established mature technology. Steering Committee members agreed that PRBs have come a long way, but they said that the PRB Action Team still plays an important role in advancing the technology. They agreed that the technology is evolving and that the PRB Action Team provides an ideal forum for discussing difficult data interpretation issues, new applications, and the intricacies of PRB performance. Attendees identified the following list of future activities for the PRB Action Team: (1) maintaining the PRB Action Team Web site, (2) holding annual or biennial meetings, and (3) writing a short position paper.

Attendees spoke briefly about the scope of the PRB Action Team's mandate. One attendee asked whether biobarriers or source zone treatment projects really fall under the team's purview. Attendees were split in their opinions. In the end, they agreed that it is acceptable to bring up cutting-edge topics at Action Team meetings even if the topics fall outside the Action Team's main focus area.

NEXT PRB MEETING

Steering Committee members talked about holding the next PRB Action Team meeting on the West Coast. If possible, it will be held in conjunction with another conference, such as an Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council meeting or an Association for Environmental Health and Sciences meeting.

REVIEW OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBER LIST

Attendees agreed to invite more people to participate in the Steering Committee. John Vidumsky said that Tom Krug, a recent addition to the Committee, has provided valuable input over the last year. Vidumsky said that he would like to invite Michelle Thomson to participate as a Steering Committee member. No objections were raised. Reeter said that he would contact Tom Early, a Department of Energy (DOE) representative, to see if he would be interested in participating actively in the Steering Committee.

ACTION ITEMS

• Riddle will send out an e-mail letting Steering Committee members know where updated profiles are located. The e-mail will also list (1) sites updated in 2001, (2) sites updated in 2003, (3) POCs who have not yet responded to EMS' request for information, (4) sites that are slated for archiving, and (5) sites proposed for new site profiles. Steering Committee members will review the list to determine whether there are any sites for which they can provide information.



• Riddle will start developing new site profiles and releasing them to the Steering Committee in small batches.



• Reeter will invite a DOE representative to participate in the Steering Committee.