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

2:00 p.m.­3:30 p.m.
October 21, 1998

On Wednesday, October 21, 1998, the following members of the Permeable Reactive Barriers (PRB) Action Team Steering Committee met in a conference call:

Bob Puls (co-chair), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
John Vidumsky (co-chair), DuPont
Dawn Carroll, EPA, Technology Innovation Office (TIO)
Donald Marcus, MacMarcus Resources
Stan Morrison, In Situ Barriers
Timothy Sivavec, General Electric Corporate Remediation
Matthew Turner, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Scott Warner, Geomatrix Consultants, Inc.

Also present were Carolyn Perroni of Environmental Management Support, Inc. (EMS), and Kimberly Coerr and Christine Hartnett of Eastern Research Group, Inc. (ERG).

PRB TRAINING

Bob Puls and Scott Warner provided a brief overview of the PRB training program. Puls noted that Warner recommended creating a PRB training program during an April 1998 meeting in Beaverton, Oregon. Based on the recommendation, a subgroup was formed to develop the training program and to identify funding sources. Puls said that funding has been secured, with the Interstate Technology Regulatory Cooperation (ITRC) and the EPA serving as the main supporters. Puls said the training will be targeted to state and federal regulators, noting that these are the people who will be responsible for approving the technology on a site-by-site basis. He said attendee spots will also be reserved, however, for industry representatives, consultants, and site owners. Puls said the training will be held in at least 10 locations across the country. In addition to the actual training sessions, two dry runs are scheduled.

Puls said an outline has been drafted for the training program by three or four Steering Committee members and John Vogan. This outline, entitled Permeable Reactive Barriers for Treating Contaminated Groundwater: Application and Deployment Training Course; Proposal; Version 4, October 1, 1998, was distributed to the Steering Committee prior to the conference call. Warner noted that the proposal consists of the following sections: Introduction, Training Elements, Attendance, Funding, Training Session Outline, and Proposed Course Outline. The last of these, Warner noted, presents a list of bulleted items to be covered during the training sessions. He asked conference call participants whether certain topics should be added or deleted. The conference call participants suggested adding:

• Hands-on training. In previous discussions, Donald Marcus noted, Warner had mentioned that the training would include exercises. Marcus said the outline did not clearly indicate whether exercises would be part of the training. Warner said exercises will be incorporated into the training as:
• Multiple short exercises. Warner said several 10- to 15-minute exercises will be interspersed throughout the training presentations. For example, he said a short exercise might be conducted on computing residence time.
• One long exercise. Warner said a long exercise will be conducted near the end of the second day of training. He said participants will receive background information and data on an existing site (e.g., the Elizabeth City site) and will be asked to use this information to design a PRB system. After they complete the exercise, trainers will tell the attendees about the design decisions that were actually made at the site and participants will be given an opportunity to comment.
• A "Lessons Learned" section. Marcus recommended adding a "Lessons Learned" section so that attendees could be warned of common pitfalls and mistakes. Warner said this kind of information will be incorporated into various presentations throughout the training session. In addition, he continued, these issues could be discussed at the end of the second day of training.
• Videotape. Marcus recommended showing a videotape of a PRB installation. He said consultants and regulators would likely regard such footage as valuable. Puls thought this was a good idea and recommended allotting some time for a video presentation during a break, lunch, or at the beginning of the second day.

Warner said he will revise the outline after receiving input from Steering Committee members and state regulators. He said he has already identified one error in the outline: Matthew Turner should have been identified as an instructor. Additionally, Warner noted, some of the dates chosen for training sessions may need to be changed if they conflict with other major conferences. Warner asked for all written comments pertaining to the outline by November 10, 1998. ERG agreed to send an E-mail to the entire Steering Committee notifying them of this deadline. Warner agreed to produce the next draft of the outline prior to the RTDF Action Team's November 1998 meeting. At the meeting, Puls said, the Steering Committee will meet to discuss the revised version and Warner will be given a slot to summarize the status of the PRB training program for the entire Action Team.

Warner said training materials will be developed after the outline is finalized. He said he plans to have a draft of the PRB training materials completed by December 1998 or January 1999. He said a contractor will be assisting with the effort and will convert provided materials into one standardized format. Warner said the completed draft will be sent to the Steering Committee for review. Warner noted that the current outline identifies certain people to lead the effort on developing materials for different topics. He stressed that these people will be relying heavily on other Steering Committee members for assistance. He encouraged conference call participants to offer support in this effort. Puls said that Steering Committee members could participate in additional ways, such as serving as course instructors. He told participants to contact himself, John Vidumsky, or Warner if they were interested in pursuing this avenue. Warner said geography will play a role in choosing instructors and advised participants to look at the current outline to see when training sessions will be held at their locations.

Warner said consideration is being given to making several products available through the PRB training course, including:

• Training slides. Warner said the majority of the training will be presented through slide presentation.
• Issues paper. Warner noted that an issues paper, entitled PRB Technology for Contaminant Remediation, was recently released.
• ITRC documents. Warner noted that two ITRC documents have been released over the last two years.

Marcus recommended making these documents available over the Internet as PDF files.

NOVEMBER 1998 RTDF ACTION TEAM MEETING AT OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORIES (ORNL)

Puls noted that the PRB Action Team is scheduled to meet on November 17­19, 1998, at ORNL. He said the first session will not commence until noon on November 17 and asked whether the Steering Committee could meet at 9:00 in the morning. Timothy Sivavec said he would not be able to attend because he would be traveling in the morning and warned that other east coasters might have similar plans. Puls said the Steering Committee could meet at 6:00 p.m. on November 18 as an alternative, but Warner expressed a desire to discuss the PRB training on the morning of November 17. ERG agreed to send an E-mail to Steering Committee members, soliciting input on preferred meeting times.

Kimberly Coerr indicated that 50 people have registered for the November 1998 meeting and that 25 have signed up for the field trip. Out of the 50 attendees, she noted, 23 are speakers. Coerr noted that a poster session is scheduled for the evening of November 17 and that there is space for 16 posters, each six feet wide and four feet tall. To date, ERG has received seven posters. Puls said additional posters are en route. Posters presented will include those provided by:

• Puls. Puls said he has a total of seven posters that can be used during the poster session. Two of them, he said, were provided by European colleagues.
• ORNL. Coerr said that ORNL has provided four posters.
• ITRC. Turner said he would talk to Brian Ellis about providing an ITRC poster for the meeting. In addition, Turner agreed to ask Ellis to send Puls or ERG a 1-page abstract describing the poster.

One participant asked whether an RTDF poster should be included. Carolyn Perroni said this was possible and agreed to discuss the issue with ERG.

MISCELLANEOUS

Puls noted that EPA, the Department of Energy (DOE), and the Department of Defense (DOD) are embarking on a long-term performance evaluation. He said all three organizations have officially received funding for the project.

Marcus asked whether the RTDF Web site contains links to models that are appropriate for reactive barriers. He said it might be useful to establish a link to the CSMOS site. Puls agreed and said he would look into establishing a direct link with the CSMOS site. Marcus said he would search for other appropriate sites.

ACTION ITEMS

• ERG agreed to send an E-mail to the entire Steering Committee notifying them that all comments on the PRB training outline must be submitted to Warner by November 10, 1998.
• Warner agreed to revise the PRB training outline prior to the RTDF Action Team's November 1998 meeting.
• ERG agreed to send an E-mail to Steering Committee members, soliciting input on whether they preferred to meet at 9:00 a.m. on November 17 or 6:00 p.m. on November 18.
• Turner said he would talk to Ellis about providing an ITRC poster for the November 1998 PRB Action Team meeting. In addition, Turner agreed to ask Ellis to send Puls or ERG a 1-page abstract describing the poster.
• Perroni agreed to talk with ERG about providing an RTDF poster for the November 1998 PRB Action Team meeting.
• Puls agreed to look into establishing a link between the RTDF Web site and the CSMOS site. Marcus said he would search for other appropriate sites.