Since 1980, the Superfund Program has made considerable progress toward cleaning up contaminated sites and responding to emergencies involving hazardous substances.
Green remediation is the practice of considering all environmental effects of remedy implementation and incorporating options to minimize the environmental footprints of cleanup actions.
Green remediation strategies may help decrease the ecological footprint and provide a protective remedy within the Superfund regulatory and statutory framework, as established by the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. Opportunities to decrease the environmental footprint and maximize the environmental outcome of a cleanup exist throughout all stages of a project – site investigation, development of cleanup strategies and remedy design, construction, operation, and monitoring.
EPA’s Superfund Green Remediation Strategy presents the current plans of the Superfund Remedial Program to minimize environmental impact of the cleanup actions and to conserve natural resources. The strategy sets out 40 specific action items aligned with 9 actions. Policy and guidance development, resource development, and a several short-term initiatives can address several of these strategic approaches.
To access the EPA’s Superfund Green Remediation Strategy, please visit: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/greenremediation/sf-gr-strategy.pdf
To access the EPA’s Superfund & Green Remediation web-page, please visit: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/greenremediation/