REMEDIATION TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPMENT FORUM
NON-AQUEOUS PHASE LIQUID (NAPL) CLEANUP ALLIANCE

Progress Report
Fourth Quarter 2002

Introduction

The Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid (NAPL) Cleanup Alliance was established early in 2001 as one of the six active Action Teams under the Remediation Technologies Development Forum (RTDF). The RTDF fosters collaboration between the public and private sectors in developing innovative solutions to mutual hazardous waste problems. The Alliance is made up of representatives from the petroleum industry, federal and state government, and academia who share an interest in evaluating a range of technologies for remediation and management of large-scale, non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) contamination.

This report documents progress of the NAPL Cleanup Alliance during the fourth quarter of 2002.

Accomplishments

  1. The Decision Framework Working Group is revising the draft annotated outline of the NAPL Management Decision Framework presented at the Alliance's April 2002 meeting, and plans to present a revised outline at the Alliance's January 2003 meeting. After revision, the outline will be field-tested at several sites.
  2. The Project Technical Working Group continued work on a pilot project to address NAPL contamination at a former refinery site in Casper, WY. A report documenting analyses of 37 aquifer soil cores is being finalized and will be made available on the Alliance web site (www.rtdf.org/public/napl/). The Working Group is currently compiling petroleum engineering analytical data to develop fluid saturation profiles, calibrate the API Brooks-Corey van Genuchten Model to each soil-hydrocarbon combination identified, and correlate with LIF data to develop NAPL saturation and mobility maps that will serve as a basis for selection and deployment of pilot-scale remediation systems.
  3. The Technical Information Working Group continued its cooperation with an ongoing project for the Ground-Water Remediation Technologies Analysis Center (GWRTAC), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, to compile a searchable database of existing information on NAPL research and cleanup projects in the United States and Europe. When the database is completed, the information will be made available via the Internet. The Alliance (www.rtdf.org/public/napl/) and GWRTAC (www.gwrtac.org) will provide access to the database via their Internet sites.
  4. Alliance members are developing a LNAPL training program that can be delivered across the country. The strawman created by the American Petroleum Institute and industry members is being revised and will then be distributed to the regulatory community for review.
  5. The Alliance continues to actively pursue ways to increase state participation in the group's activities. Alliance members have met with the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council and Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials to discuss partnership potential and additional meetings with individual states are anticipated.
  6. The next Alliance meeting is scheduled for January 23-24, 2003.