SUMMARY OF THE REMEDIATION TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPMENT FORUM
PHYTOREMEDIATION ACTION TEAM
TOTAL PETROLEUM HYDROCARBON IN SOIL SUBGROUP
CONFERENCE CALL

March 29, 2000
12:00-1:30 p.m.

On March 29, 2000, the following members of the Remediation Technologies Development Forum's (RTDF's) Phytoremediation Action Team, Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) in Soil Subgroup, met in a conference call:

Lucinda Jackson, Chevron Corporation (Action Team Co-Chair and Subgroup Co-Chair)
Phil Sayre, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (Subgroup Co-Chair)
Peter Kulakow, Kansas State University (KSU)
Bud Prevatt, Phillips Petroleum Company
David Tsao, BP Amoco

Christine Hartnett of Eastern Research Group, Inc. (ERG), was also present.

UPDATE ON FIELD DEMONSTRATION SITES AND COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS

The TPH in Soil Subgroup has created a field study program to evaluate how effectively plants degrade petroleum hydrocarbons across a range of test sites. Conference call participants provided information on Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) and other site-relevant information:

• Legal obligations associated with CRADAs. During the Subgroup's previous conference call, David Tsao brought up an interesting contractual question: would a demonstration team be legally bound to finish a field project if a site were sold and the new owner denied access? Phil Sayre said that he presented this question to EPA's Larry Fradkin, and learned that a demonstration team would not be legally obligated to finish its project.

• Status of the CRADAs. Sayre said that the CRADA for Site J has been finalized and signed. Tsao said that BP Amoco will sign a CRADA in the near future so that field activities can be initiated at Sites H and I. Bud Prevatt and Lucinda Jackson said that efforts are underway to get members of the Petroleum Environmental Research Forum (PERF) to sign a CRADA. Prevatt said that the Phillips Petroleum Company has a copy of the PERF CRADA, but Jackson said that Chevron Corporation does not. Prevatt will contact Evelyn Drake to determine when he must sign the PERF CRADA and who he should forward it to. He will pass Drake's response on to Jackson.

• Site updates for Sites H and I. Tsao said that planting is scheduled for Sites H and I in spring 2000. Regulatory approval has been officially granted for the field study at Site H, he said, and approval is anticipated for Site I in the near future. Over the next few weeks, Tsao said, he will collect soil samples from Site I. Peter Kulakow offered to perform agronomic tests on them. Tsao will contact Kulakow if his services are needed.

SUBGROUP'S ANNUAL REPORT

Kulakow said that he sent Sayre, Jackson, Drake, and Steve Rock a copy of the Subgroup's annual report. The report, said Kulakow, contains about 22 pages of text, tables that present aggregate data, tables that present site-specific data, and appendices that present detailed data sets. Jackson and Sayre agreed to review the report and to forward comments to Kulakow over the next couple of weeks. After incorporating these, Kulakow will distribute the report to other TPH in Soil Subgroup members. He plans to do so by April 14, 2000. ERG agreed to contact Kulakow to determine who should receive the report. After receiving his distribution list, ERG will send Kulakow mailing information for each person.

ADDING NEW SITES TO THE SUBGROUP'S FIELD PROGRAM

Jackson said that she has been contacted by some people who are interested in joining the TPH in Soil Subgroup. She asked whether the Subgroup would be willing to add sites to its field study program. Sayre thought this was an excellent idea, but stressed that site managers must be willing to follow the majority of the Subgroup's protocol. Kulakow also expressed interest in having new sites added, especially if they have an environmental condition or a contamination profile that is not currently represented by other Subgroup sites.

After deciding that it would be acceptable to add more sites, Jackson asked whether a cut-off date should be established for joining the field study program. She said that she could think of a couple of reasons why this might be advisable:

• It is unclear how long the Subgroup will be in existence. Jackson said that the Subgroup's field study program was originally scheduled to be performed over a 3-year period. Sayre acknowledged that this was true, but said that efforts are underway to extend into a fourth year. Even if some field studies were underway when the Subgroup disbands, he said, site managers/owners might be willing to continue work on their own and to add data to the Subgroup's data set. He acknowledged, however, that this might be overly optimistic.

• It is unclear how long incentives will be offered. Jackson said that there are currently three incentives that entice site owners to join the Subgroup's program:

  — Arthur D. Little (ADL) and Battelle offer a discounted rate for analytical testing.

  — A KSU representative (Kulakow) visits the Subgroup's field sites.

  — KSU formats, analyzes, and summarizes data that are collected for the site.

  Jackson questioned how long these incentives will be offered. For example, she said, she does not know whether ADL will be willing to offer discounted analytical rates for much longer. She agreed to contact ADL to ask about this; she will report her findings to the Subgroup. Also, Jackson said, once funding runs out for KSU, Kulakow's site visits will be terminated and data will no longer be analyzed by one central entity. She said that she did not know how long KSU would receive funding for their services. Kulakow and Sayre said that funding is secure for 2000, and that efforts are underway to secure funds for 2001 and 2002.

Kulakow said that he thought it would be fine to add new sites if site owners are willing to initiate field activities this year. After this year, however, it may not be practical; thus, Kulakow advised listing 2000 as the cut-off date for joining. Sayre agreed to e-mail Geiger to tell him that a cut-off date is being considered. (Sayre thought this was necessary because Geiger has identified a site that is interested in joining the Subgroup's field program.)

TPH IN SOIL SUBGROUP MEETING

Sayre said that the TPH in Soil Subgroup will meet on the morning of May 3, 2000, at the Omni-Parker hotel in Boston, Massachusetts. He summarized the presentations that will be given at the meeting:

• Welcome/Goal of TPH Subgroup/Agenda. Sayre will give this presentation.

• Presentation of Subgroup's Annual Report. Kulakow, who is scheduled to present the Subgroup's annual report, asked for feedback on how much detail to present on site-specific data. Jackson agreed to review the annual report and to let Kulakow know (via e-mail or phone message) how comfortable PERF members and site owners are with presenting site-specific data at the meeting.

• Site Updates. Sayre said that there are about 10 sites within the Subgroup's field program; he hopes that Subgroup members who are associated with these sites will give slide presentations (5 to 10 minutes per site) at the meeting. Tsao said that he is willing to do so for Sites H and I. Jackson, who will not be able to attend the meeting, asked Kulakow to give a presentation for Site A. Kulakow agreed. He also told call participants that he has slides for all of the Subgroup sites that he has visited, and that he is willing to share these with other Subgroup members.

• Regulatory Perspective. Felix Flechas and Bob Mueller will provide regulatory perspective on phytoremediation technologies.

• The Interstate Technology & Regulatory Cooperation (ITRC) Working Group's Phytoremediation Decision Tree. Tsao will give this presentation.

• Use of Biomarkers and Data Analysis. Jackson said that ADL's Henry Camp will present a paper that they wrote together for an Association for the Environmental Health of Soils meeting. Jackson agreed to send this paper to ERG so that it can be distributed to all TPH in Soil Subgroup members.

• Assessing Cleanup Levels. Steve Geiger will give this presentation.

• Cost Comparisons. Sayre, who has been asked to present information on this topic, said that he may ask Geiger to assist him with this presentation. Sayre asked Kulakow whether site-specific cost data have been collected for the Subgroup's field sites. Kulakow said that he has not received information from any of the sites, and that data cannot be gathered in time for the May 3 meeting.

ERG noted that registration for the May 3 meeting will be closed off soon. ERG will remind Subgroup members that they must register immediately to secure a spot.

ACTION ITEMS

• Tsao will contact Kulakow if he wants agronomic tests performed on Site I's samples.

• Prevatt will contact Drake to determine when he must sign the PERF CRADA and who he should forward it to. He will pass Drake's response on to Jackson.

• Jackson and Sayre agreed to review the Subgroup's annual report that Kulakow prepared. They will forward comments to Kulakow over the next couple weeks.

• Kulakow agreed to distribute the Subgroup's annual report to Subgroup members by April 14, 2000. ERG will contact Kulakow to find out who should receive the report. ERG will then send Kulakow mailing information for each person.

• After reviewing the annual report, Jackson will let Kulakow know (via e-mail or phone message) how comfortable PERF members and site owners are with having site-specific data presented at the TPH in Soil Subgroup meeting that is scheduled for May 3, 2000.

• ERG will remind TPH in Soil Subgroup members that they must register immediately to secure a spot at the May 3, 2000, meeting.

• Jackson will send ERG a paper that she wrote with Henry Camp. (It addresses biomarkers and analytical approaches used for phytoremediation sites.) ERG will distribute the paper to Subgroup members.

• Sayre will send an e-mail to Steve Geiger to let him know that the Subgroup may establish a cut-off date for adding new sites to the Subgroup's field study program.

• Jackson will contact representatives from ADL to find out whether they will offer discounted analytical rates to new sites that enter the Subgroup's field study program. She will forward her findings to the Subgroup.

• ERG agreed to set up the next conference call for June 2, 2000, between 12:00 and 1:30 Eastern Daylight Time.