July 19, 2001
1:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m.

On July 19, 2001, the following members of the Remediation Technologies Development Forum's (RTDF's) Phytoremediation Action Team, Chlorinated Solvents Subgroup, met in a conference call:

Bob Tossell, CH2M Hill, Inc.
Frank Beck, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Linda Fiedler, EPA
Jim Jordahl, CH2M Hill, Inc.
Lee Newman,Washington State University
Mike Witt, The Dow Chemical Company

Also present was Sarah Dun of Eastern Research Group, Inc. (ERG).

Conference call participants summarized the goals that the Subgroup has been working toward over the past year: (1) describe how to screen phytoremediation as a potential remediation option, and (2) encourage site owners to test the technology at sites contaminated with chlorinated solvents. Tossell asked call participants whether two documents should be drafted to support these goals. One would be short, he noted, and would simply outline a step-by-step protocol explaining how to perform a field demonstration project. The other document, which would be longer, would provide background information and more detail about phytoremediation technologies. Call participants agreed that this "two-tiered" approach should be followed, and that efforts should focus on creating the short document for now. The following steps will be taken to further the development of the short protocol.

• ERG will distribute a copy of the Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) in Soil Subgroup protocol so that this can be used as an example.
• Subgroup members will communicate via email regarding their thoughts on the TPH in Soil Subgroup protocol and discuss how the Chlorinated Solvents Subgroup protocol should be structured.
• Bob Tossell will work with Subgroup members to create a draft Chlorinated Solvents Subgroup protocol. (Tossell will either work directly with Jim Jordahl, Mike Witt, and Lee Newman to create the draft or assign sections to different Subgroup members and then compile what he receives.)
• Subgroup members will discuss and review the draft Chlorinated Solvents Subgroup protocol during the next conference call. (The call will take place on either September 6 or September 13. ERG will poll Subgroup members to determine which date is better.) The protocol will be revised after the conference call.
• People outside the Subgroup will be invited to comment on the protocol to provide perspective on the protocol's methodology, sampling plan, and field techniques. (Call participants identified several people who would be excellent reviewers.)
  

Once the short document is completed, call participants agreed, the Subgroup's attention should shift toward creating the longer, more detailed, phytoremediation document. Lee Newman thought the document could be very useful as long as it does not duplicate information already available in other documents. She suggested reviewing documents released by the Interstate Technology Regulatory Cooperation and the U.S. Navy to make sure that information will not be duplicated.

Call participants also said that the Subgroup should start compiling a list of site owners who might be interested in testing phytoremediation technologies. Tossell asked Subgroup members to notify ERG of any potential candidate sites. If call participants do not feel comfortable releasing the names of potential sites, he said, they should simply provide a site contact name and information about the site's geographic location, the contaminants present, and key hydrologic features.