SUMMARY OF THE REMEDIATION TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPMENT FORUM
NAPL CLEANUP ALLIANCE
CONFERENCE CALL

11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
March 22, 2006

On Wednesday, March 22, 2006, the following members of the Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid (NAPL) Cleanup Alliance met in a conference call:

Bob Maxey, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (Alliance Co-Chair)
Greg Fletcher, Suncor
Rick Greiner, ConocoPhillips Company
Harley Hopkins, American Petroleum Institute (API)
Vic Kremesec, Atlantic Richfield Co., a BP Affiliated Company
Mark Lewellen, ExxonMobil
Ellen Rubin, EPA
Dick Woodward, Terracon
David Zabcik, Shell Oil Products U.S. Company and Motiva Enterprises

Also participating in the call were Anna Willett from the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council (ITRC), Carolyn Perroni of Environmental Management Support, Inc., and Christine Hartnett of ERG.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

EPA does not plan to fund the NAPL Cleanup Alliance after April 2006. Thus, with the Alliance’s involvement in the RTDF coming to a close, Alliance members are exploring other avenues by which they can continue operating. This conference call was held to explore the possibility of continuing the Alliance’s work under the aegis of the ITRC. During the call, Anna Willett, the industry representative on ITRC’s Board of Advisors, provided information about ITRC and explained what the Alliance would have to do to join.

INFORMATION ABOUT ITRC

ITRC supports more than a dozen technical teams. Each team is led by a state regulator and must have at least four other state regulators participating; other team members come from a variety of affiliations, including private industry, government, and academia. Willett said that ITRC maintains a budget, which it uses to provide a small amount of funding and logistical support to each team. The amount that ITRC provides is negotiated on a team-by-team basis. The remainder of the funds that are used to support team activities come from other sources, such as from individual team members. Once teams have their funding in place, a budget is established for the team and the money is used, at least in part, to (1) support travel costs for state regulators, and (2) secure the services of a Technical Advisor. Willett said that the latter is typically a private consultant and that ITRC contracts directly with the private consultant to secure support for the technical teams. (Teams are allowed to provide input on who their Technical Advisor will be.)

Willett also talked about ITRC’s new Industry Affiliates Program (IAP), a program that has been developed to provide industry members access to ITRC’s technical teams. She said that companies are expected to pay $7,500 to participate in the IAP unless they are already contributing at least that amount to one of ITRC’s individual technical team. In such instances, the IAP fee is waived.

Willett indicated that the ITRC would be amenable to considering adding the NAPL Cleanup Alliance as a technical team. If Alliance members are interested in this opportunity, she said, they must fill out a proposal (1-2 pages) and submit it to ITRC for consideration. Willett indicated that she would be happy to assist in the process and to help the Alliance identify five state regulators to participate in their group. Call participants thanked her for her offer and indicated that they would let her know if they need assistance and contact her directly (awillett@haleyaldrich.com) if they have additional questions.

ACTION ITEMS