NEWS TECHNOLOGY Twenty states join federal government to facilitate innovative technology use A federal-state working group dedicated to easing regulatory acceptance of innovative technologies has released its first guidance documents for state regulators. The four documents released in June by die Interstate Technology and Regulatory Cooperation (ITRC) workgroup are being used by state regulators to help judge the appropriateness of a technology for use at state and federal hazardous waste sites. ITRC comprising 20 state and several federal agency representatives hopes to encourage the sharing of technical and regulatory information on new technologies among the states One document, which has already gained acceptance by Department of Defense (DOD) officials, describes an evaluation of die site characterization and analysis penetrometer system, an in situ, subsurface field-screening method used to characterize a site contaminated with petroleum or oil lubricants. ITRC members participated in die California Technology Verification Drogram (ES&T, ,ebruary 1195, 72A) tiiat sponsored a demonstration of the penetrometer system. The guidance resulting from that test is being used by state regulators to verify the technology for use at DOD sites across the country said James Allen chief of the Of
fice of Pollution Prevention and Technoloev Development at California EPA and co-chair of ITRC The other three guidance documents released by the working group cover low-temperature thermal treatment, in situ bioremediation, and plasma arc technologies. ITRC was created in 1994 as a subcommittee of the Department of Energy (DOE)-sponsored Demonstration of On-Site Technologies (DOIT) effort, said Rick Tomlinson, environmental technology adviser for the Western Governors' Association, and was designed to advise the federal government on ways to improve remediation projects. DOIT comprised association members and representa-
tives from DOD, DOE, Department of the Interior, and EPA. DOIT expired in June but recommended the continuation of ITRC. ITRC is one of several groups striving to streamline permitting of innovative technologies across state lines. But ITRC's focus is on facilitating communication among states to reduce time needed to review and permit new cleanup technologies, Allen said. One goal of ITRC is to halt the trend among state and federal regulators to fall back on wellknown technologies rather than experiment with innovative systems that might be more efficient, less costly and, in some cases, do the job with less impact on the local environment, said Marty Kurtovich, DOE special assistant for regulatory compliance. DOE, a major supporter of ITRC, has estimated that it could save as much as $40 billion annually in environmental cleanup costs if innovative technologies were used, Kurtovich said. Groups such as ITRC can help pull down state regulatory barriers, which Kurtovich characterized as "almost prohibitive" toward new technologies. Under Superfund
and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, state regulators are required to sign off on the cleanup plans at federal sites. A major side benefit is that ITRC provides a more level playing field for states trying to promote the growth of their technology sector, said Nancy Worst, director of the Innovative Technology Program at the Texas Natural Resource Commission and co-chair of ITRC. "If a number of states have agreed on criteria to look at when permitting a technology, it creates a larger, more common market" for that process she said. The group has charted a course for the 1997 fiscal year and plans to develop guidance on technologies in five areas: accelerated site characterization, permeable treatment walls, plasma technology, low-temperature thermal desorption, and technologies to remove metals in soils, Worst said. But these plans are dependent on the funding level approved by die supporting federal agencies. If federal funds dry up, state in-kind contributions, which are significant, are likely to continue. However, "if funding evaporates, it might be difficult to continue in the present form," said Allen. "But we have an established forum for states to share information on technologies, and I expect that will continue." —CATHERINE M. COONEY
Using sensors to detect contamination The cone penetrometer uses a heavy truck system to hydrologically drive the penetrometer into the ground, where a sapphire window allows the light from the fiber optics to interact with the soils. Fiber-optic cables send the information to a computer-based analytical center housed in the truck.
Retractable housing to expose sensors and vapor sampling port
Source: Department of Energy/Sandia National Laboratories.
4 3 2 A • VOL. 30, NO. 10, 1996 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / NEWS
