SUMMARY OF THE REMEDIATION TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPMENT FORUM
SEDIMENTS REMEDIATION ACTION TEAM
ASSESSMENT SUBGROUP MEETING

April 7, 2000
11:30-12:30 p.m.

On April 7, 2000, the following members of the Remediation Technologies Development Forum's (RTDF's) Sediments Remediation Action Team, Assessment Subgroup, met in a conference call:

Ralph Stahl, DuPont Corporate Remediation (Subgroup Co-chair)
John W. Davis, Dow Chemical Company
Kenneth Finkelstein, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Joseph Jersak, Hull & Associates, Inc.
Dave Rigg, Blasland, Bouck & Lee, Inc.

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

SUBGROUP WHITE PAPERS

Ralph Stahl said that Assessment Subgroup members are writing a series of white papers. Authors have been assigned, he said, and first drafts must be submitted to ERG by April 25, 2000. (Papers should be submitted to lstamata@erg.com.) After collecting the papers, Stahl said, ERG will distribute them to all Subgroup members.

Stahl asked whether Subgroup members have identified concerns or encountered problems while writing the papers. John Davis and Joseph Jersak said that they are trying to determine how much technical detail to include. Since each paper is only supposed to be about two to four pages long, they said, it is clear that the papers must be fairly general, but some technical details must be provided to make them meaningful. Stahl and Kenneth Finkelstein recommended writing the papers so that they will be useful overviews and springboards for regulators and field practitioners.

Finkelstein provided an update on the two white papers he has been working on:

• Ecological Assessment Tools. A first draft has been completed, and it is being reviewed by National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration representatives. Finkelstein will incorporate comments and submit a draft to ERG by April 25, 2000.

• Measures of Success--Mass Removal, Ecological Improvement. Finkelstein said that a paper, entitled Long-Term Benefits of Environmental Dredging, has already been written to address this topic. This paper, he said, was written by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) representative and published in the Engineering News Record in March 1999. Because this topic has already been addressed, Finkelstein questioned whether the Subgroup should invest energy writing a white paper on it. Stahl recommended holding off for now and sending a copy of Long-Term Benefits of Environmental Dredging to ERG by April 25, 2000. This can be distributed, he said, in lieu of a white paper. Finkelstein agreed to follow up on this.

FACE-TO-FACE MEETING

Stahl said that the next RTDF Sediments Remediation Action Team meeting will take place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cincinnati, Ohio, on May 8-9, 2000. He summarized the meeting's agenda:

Action Team Meeting: May 8, 2000 (Afternoon)

Stahl said that the entire Sediments Remediation Action Team will meet between 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. on May 8, 2000. During this session, meeting attendees will learn about activities that are taking place at EPA's Cincinnati laboratory. Also, Stahl said, Sabine Apitz will provide an update on the status of the Seaplane Lagoon site. (Representatives from this site have expressed interest in having the Action Team perform field demonstrations.) In addition, presenters will explain how phytoremediation could be used to address contaminated sediments.

Informal Group Dinner: May 8, 2000 (Starting Around 7:00 p.m.)

Stahl said that Action Team members plan to go out for an informal group dinner on the evening of May 8, 2000. (The dinner is optional; it is not considered a "working dinner.")

Assessment Subgroup Breakout Session: May 9, 2000 (Morning and Early Afternoon)

Stahl said that the Assessment Subgroup will meet on May 9, 2000, from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The meeting will address three topics:

• Subgroup white papers. Stahl said that the morning session will be devoted to the Subgroups' white papers. He encouraged meeting attendees to review the papers beforehand, to mark up hard copies, and to come prepared to offer comments at the meeting. In addition, Stahl asked all of the papers' authors to bring overheads that outline their paper's major points, and to be prepared to give a brief overview of their paper. Stahl said that it might also be useful for authors to bring laptops; this will allow them to incorporate comments during the actual meeting. (Stahl thinks that free time may be available at the end of the morning session; if so, authors may be able to finalize their papers at the meeting.)

• Ecochallenge Sediments game. Stahl said that he and David Hohreiter have been working together to create a scaled-down version of the Ecochallenge Sediments game. He said that the game will be set up during lunch, and that Subgroup members will be given an opportunity to "play" with it. After doing so, Subgroup members will be expected to provide input on whether additional effort should be invested in developing the game. (Stahl will bring all of the materials that are required for the game; he may, however, ask ERG to distribute introductory materials before the meeting.)

• Open house at the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) meeting. Stahl said the Assessment Subgroup will hold an open house at SETAC's November 2000 meeting. He said that Subgroup members must decide how to present information and what to accomplish during the open house.

ACTION ITEMS

• White paper authors will submit drafts to ERG by April 25, 2000. Also, Finkelstein will send ERG a copy of Long-Term Benefits of Environmental Dredging by this date. (Papers should be submitted to lstamata@erg.com.) ERG will distribute the papers to all Assessment Subgroup members during the first week of May 2000.

• ERG will send Assessment Subgroup members invitations to participate in the Sediments Remediation Action Team meeting that is scheduled to take place on May 8-9, 2000.

• Stahl stated what will be expected of Subgroup members who attend the Subgroup's May 9 meeting:

  — Meeting attendees should review draft white papers beforehand so that they are prepared to offer comments. They should also bring marked-up hard copies to the meeting.

  — White paper authors should bring overheads that outline their papers' major points. They should also be prepared to give brief overviews of their papers. In addition, they should consider bringing laptops; this will allow them to incorporate comments during the meeting.

• Stahl said that he might send ERG introductory information on the Ecochallenge Sediments game. ERG agreed to distribute these materials to Subgroup members before the May 9 meeting.