The Engineering Forum (EF), established in the late 1980s, is a group of engineers and scientists that supports the Superfund and RCRA programs in each of the ten EPA Regional Offices. As one of the EPA Technical Support Project’s (TSP) three technical forums, the EF is a medium for exchanging technical information regarding innovative site cleanup and characterization technologies. Monthly technical talks focus on site-specific engineering problems encountered, alternatives and solutions, and lessons learned. After each presentation, information regarding upcoming events and training are discussed and time for an Open Mic discussion is provided. If you are a Superfund, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Brownfields, state or federal environmental professional who is interested in solving technical issues, register for any technical talks listed below that interest you and join the discussion!

Presentations are specifically designed for EPA staff including RPMs, OSCs, Corrective Action Managers, Superfund and Technology Liaisons, Chemists, Biologists, Physical Scientists, and Engineers from within EPA regions, program offices, laboratory system, and headquarters personnel as well as environmental professionals from state agencies, tribes, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Dept. of Energy, and other federal agencies of all experience levels. THIS TRAINING IS NOT OPEN TO ACADEMIA, CONTRACTORS, CONSULTANTS OR OTHER PRIVATE ENTITIES.

We will try to meet any special accommodations necessary for our participants as possible if given a minimum of two weeks notice. You will be prompted to indicate if you need any special accommodations upon registering for these events.

*This training is offered free of charge to all registrants who are confirmed to attend. One CLP will be issued for each session attended when you register and log on with the registration link provided to enable your attendance to be confirmed.*
 

Best Practices for Site Characterization Throughout the Remediation Process is based on best management practices (BMP) implemented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), partnership organizations, federal and state partners, and consultants. Participants will learn how to streamline projects in a legal, technically sound, and cost-effective manner. By taking the course, participants achieve the following objectives:

• Integrate best practices into traditional project activities. This course illustrates how to use more effective sampling plan design, data collection, analysis, and management strategies at various entry points in a typical project time-line. The course highlights emerging quality assurance and quality control methods for evaluating data sufficiency and optimizing project sequencing. Case studies highlight benefits of using best practices at hazardous waste sites.
• Effectively collect and communicate critical project information. The course stresses the use of the systematic planning process to involve key stakeholders and develop the conceptual site model (CSM). The course provides examples of CSMs and describes how they are used as the basis for project and sampling plan design, and as a tool for maintaining stakeholder consensus throughout the project life cycle. Participants will be shown how comprehensive systematic planning extends beyond normal data quality models. The course examines tools for managing the uncertainties associated with sampling, social, economic, and political factors that significantly impact hazardous waste cleanup and reuse projects.
• Design dynamic work strategies. Systematic planning provides the foundation for designing effective dynamic work strategies (DWS). The course describes the components of a DWS, including (1) methods for verifying performance, (2) using collaborative data sets, (3) methods for real-time decision making, (4) managing sample and small-scale variability, (5) designing project and field decision logic, (6) implementing contingencies, and (7) creating streamlined work plans.
• Recognize and overcome the challenges presented while implementing a dynamic work strategy. Controlling a project during a DWS is challenging and involves communication and planning. Participants will learn how to manage and adjust programs in the field while maintaining the project’s integrity. The course describes methods for controlling and directing work during dynamic work efforts, which include using unitized costing, setting project ceilings, and lowering project costs. Participants will examine how more focused characterization efforts can extend project funds and maximize the data collected.
• Use BMPs to support all phases of the environmental cleanup life cycle. In addition to supporting site characterization, site characterization and remediation BMPs can directly support risk assessment, technology selection, remedial design, remedy implementation, long-term operations, and optimization efforts. The course describes specific ways practitioners can apply the BMPs to support these major project phases.

Course Outline

1. Overview of Best Practices for Site Characterization and Remediation
2. Systematic Project Planning
3. Developing Dynamic Work Strategies
4. Implementing a Dynamic Field Investigation
5. Risk Assessment and Real-Time Data
6. Best Practices for Remedy Design and Implementation

Best Practices for Site Characterization Throughout the Remediation Process is a 3-day course for EPA staff involved in site characterization at Superfund sites. EPA, federal, state and tribal environmental professionals may also find the course applicable. THE COURSE IS NOT OPEN TO ACADEMIA, CONSULTANTS, CONTRACTORS OR ANY PRIVATE ENTITIES. 

Managing Contracts: Focus on the Invoice is a full-day intermediate training course that will provide detailed information on the role the RPM plays in review, approval, and payment of invoices. By taking the course, RPMs will be better able to meet their responsibilities regarding contractor invoices. The course will cover the following:

• Overview of the role of the invoice in Agency accounting and cost control
• Review of the roles and responsibilities of the CO, PO, RPM, and Research Triangle Park (RTP) for general contracting activities and, specifically, for invoice review, approval or disapproval, and payment or disallowance of payment
• Detailed description of the role and responsibilities of the RPM with regard to invoice review
• Identifying specific EPA guidance to assist the RPM in carrying out delegated responsibilities
• Detailed breakdown and description of each element of the invoice and each cost component in the invoice, from the high level roll-ups and summaries to the detailed breakdowns
• Tips and pointers on how to review an invoice and how to resolve potential discrepancies identified during the review
• An exercise that allows participants to practice reviewing an invoice and identify potential discrepancies
• Facilitated discussion on the challenges RPMs face when they review invoices

The instructional methodology for this course includes lecture, a group exercise, and facilitated discussion. The target audience for this course is RPMs with at least 2 to 3 years of experience in managing work assignments and task orders.

Registration for this training is open to U.S. EPA employees ONLY.

The ARARs Academy is a beginner- to intermediate-level course that focuses on applicable or relevant and appropriate requirements (ARARs) in the remedial program. The course builds on the ARAR material presented in other CEC courses, such as Fundamentals of Superfund and Remedial Process. Participants will have the opportunity to examine the topic in more detail and apply the course concepts to site-specific situations. The ARARs Academy includes a webinar and in-class portion, both of which are required. The webinar portion will provide the participants with the foundation necessary to complete the exercises that primarily make up the in-class portion of the course. By completing the ARARs Academy, participants will be better able to:

• Define important terms and apply them when evaluating ARARs
• Describe the regulatory requirements of the common federal statutes often considered ARAR for Superfund actions and explain when they may be ARAR
• Describe ARAR documentation in the ROD including how the selected remedy complies with ARARs
• Explain how state laws and regulations can be ARAR
• Describe the six ARAR waivers and how each might be used

The ARARs Academy consists of two 2-hour webinars, one 3-hour webinar and a 1.5-day in-class training and is recommended for RPMs with at least six months experience and may have assisted other RPMs with Superfund sites or now are preparing to take the lead on Superfund sites. The ARARs Academy may also be a good review for more experienced RPMs. In addition, the ARARs Academy may also be valuable to EPA site attorneys, other Superfund staff, and State personnel supporting Superfund sites. THIS COURSE IS NOT OPEN TO ACADEMIA, CONSULTANTS, CONTRACTORS OR ANY PRIVATE ENTITIES. Superfund 101 and the Remedial Process course are prerequisites for attendees to participate in the ARARs Academy.

Please note pre-work is required for this course. Attendees will be required to attend a three-part webinar series that will cover introductory materials including a review of important definitions, the ARAR identification process, ARAR waivers, and a review of the most common Federal ARARs. Each webinar will be 2- to 3-hours long and will be presented by the same instructors involved in the classroom portion of the training. Dates for the live webinars will be sent via email to those registered to attend the classroom training. If you are not able to attend the live webinar series, it will be recorded and a link to the recording will be provided to those registered to attend the classroom training that will allow you to listen at your convenience prior to the classroom delivery. If you have any questions regarding the webinars, please feel free to contact Jodi McCarty, ICF at jodi.mccarty@icf.com.
 

The Superfund Essentials webinar series presents essential information for environmental staff with little Superfund experience. The webinar introduces the Superfund program and gives an overview of the statutory and regulatory requirements. The removal and remedial process modules describe the assessment and response process followed by OSCs and RPMs as they address their sites. The webinar closes out by explaining the community involvement program and its role in Superfund and a discussion on enforcement and liability. 

Objectives: After taking the webinar series, the participants will be able to (1) explain the provisions and requirements of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), (2) follow the assessment and response process for conducting removal and remedial actions, (3) describe the community involvement program and their part in cleanup actions, and (4) explain the importance of several special topics to the Superfund program.

This (two day) eight hour virtual course is for experienced personnel responsible for developing, implementing, or managing safety programs for hazardous waste clean-up operations, treatment, storage and disposal facilities, or responding to chemical emergencies. 

The course will help you answer the following questions as a site supervisor:

• What are your health and safety responsibilities?
• What do the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) say are your responsibilities and potential liabilities as the EPA representative?
• What should you be looking for when reviewing a site health and safety plan?
• How is an accident investigation conducted?

Topics discussed include responsibilities and liabilities, health and safety plans, accident investigations and lessons learned.

The instructional methodology for this course includes lecture, case studies, and group discussions. The target audience for this course is RPMs, OSCs and other site safety managers.  

This course meets the 29 CFR1910.120(e)(4) requirements of eight hours of initial training for on-site management and supervisors, directly responsible for, or who supervise employees engaged in, hazardous waste operations.

Note: This course is intended for U.S. EPA and U.S. Coast Guard personnel only.  

IMPORTANT:  ERTP’s receipt of a Trainex course registration is a Registration Request, it is not a Guaranteed Enrollment in the Course. All ERTP training courses require applicant registration thru the Trainex system.  Last minute course arrivals without prior ERTP Trainex course registration approval is not permitted.  Before ERTP issues final approval to deliver any course and/or any EPA offices incurring expenses for the training event (including but not limited to EPA staff travel TA’s and/or ERTP training contractor expenses incurred), all EPA mandatory pre-approvals must all be met. The pre-approvals include (but are not limited to) the following:
Training location’s availability;
COVID status and/or other COVID Guidelines in effect for the location, as well as staff;

• Agency limitations, scrutiny, and approvals of ‘Conference Spending Requirements (known as the “5170”)’ for the specific training course(s) scheduled delivery timeframe;
• Weather (blizzard, hurricane, etc);
• Contractual number of available course training slots;
• EPA training location staff having priority registration over all other registrations; and/or
• Hosting site Training Coordinator approval.

In the event a course is subsequently postponed or canceled, or notification of registration cancellation is received, all EPA travel arrangements (airline/car rental/hotel) should be canceled in a timely manner. Registered students will receive a notification via email if/when a course is postponed and/or cancelled.

Notice:For in-person course deliveries, confirmed course registered participants must abide by all facility physical access requirements for the location (examples: check-in at the security gate, Federal ID, Government PIV/CAC cards, photo id’s, etc.).  If applicable for the course or location, restrictions may apply to non-citizens and acceptable identification may be required for facility entry.  Unless otherwise specified, ERTP TRAINING IS GENERALLY NOT OPEN TO INTERNATIONAL ATTENDEES, ACADEMIA, CONTRACTORS, CONSULTANTS OR OTHER PRIVATE ENTITIES.

Superfund Essentials provides an awareness of the purpose, legal framework and implementation of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Participants are introduced to the various components of the Superfund process.

By taking the course, participants achieve the following objectives:

• Understand the evolution of the Superfund program. The course explores the origin, the accomplishments and future of the Superfund program.
• Understand the statutory and regulatory basis for the authorities of On-Scene Coordinators (OSC) and Remedial Project Managers (RPM). The course provides an overview of the roles of the OSC and RPM as they are defined in laws, regulations, policy, and guidance, including a comparison of authorities and liabilities.
• Learn about the three types of response activities defined under CERCLA. The course provides an overview of the components of the removal, remedial and enforcement programs.

The Superfund Essentials course is a 1-day awareness-level course geared towards EPA employees new to the Agency or to the Superfund program as well as other federal, state and local stakeholders. This course does not meet the inspector training requirements of EPA Order 3500.1 for OSCs and RPMs. This course is not available to contractors. Regional Superfund programs interested in offering this awareness-level course to stakeholders should contact Gary Turner, EPA Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (OSRTI), at turner.gary@epa.gov for details.

Remedial Design/Remedial Action (RD/RA) focuses on aspects of the RD/RA phase of a Superfund project and the objectives, issues and challenges that Remedial Project Managers (RPM) face during response planning and implementation. By taking the course, participants will achieve the following objectives:

• Identify steps for implementing and completing an RD/RA project under Superfund. The course provides a comprehensive examination of the RD/RA process.
• Describe the overall effort needed to conduct an RD/RA project and identify and anticipate the difficulties that can arise during such an effort. The course provides practical guidance that helps both engineers and RPMs who have other backgrounds effectively implement the design and construction phases of a Superfund cleanup.
• Describe the role of the RPM as a project manager. The course examines the crucial role of the RPM in planning an RD/RA project; effectively managing contracting, scheduling, budgeting and other aspects of the effort; coordinating activities with states and tribes; conducting effective community relations efforts; and more.
• Apply the skills they have developed to real-life situations. The course provides RPMs the opportunity to work through realistic case studies that highlight actual issues and problems that can arise.

RD/RA is a 2-day training course and is intended primarily for RPMs who have two or more years of experience or who currently are or soon will be involved in an RD/RA project. The course is also open to other federal, state and tribal personnel. THIS COURSE IS NOT OPEN TO ACADEMIA, CONSULTANTS, CONTRACTORS OR ANY PRIVATE ENTITIES.

*This course is offered free of charge to all registrants who are confirmed to attend.*

Superfund 101 consists of two introductory-level courses: Fundamentals of Superfund and Enforcement Process Overview. The target audience for each course is On-Scene Coordinators (OSC) and Remedial Project Managers (RPM).

Fundamentals of Superfund, a 3-day introductory training course, provides an overview of the purpose, legal framework and implementation of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP) for newly hired OSCs and RPMs. By taking the course, participants will achieve the following objectives:

• Understand the evolution of the Superfund program. The course explores the origin, accomplishments and future of the Superfund program.
• Understand the statutory and regulatory basis for the authorities of OSCs and RPMs. The course provides an overview of the roles of the OSC and RPM as they are defined in laws, regulations, policy and guidance, including a comparison of authorities and liabilities.
• Learn about the three types of response activities defined under CERCLA. The course discusses the components of the removal, remedial and enforcement programs and the major responsibilities of OSCs and RPMs in their work on Superfund responses, site cleanups and enforcement activities.

Enforcement Process Overview, a 2-day course, provides an overview of the EPA’s Superfund enforcement process for OSCs and RPMs. By taking the course, participants will achieve the following objectives:

• Learn about the goals, priorities, and actions of the Superfund enforcement program. The course provides an introduction to response actions and enforcement authorities under Superfund; illustrates the relationship between major enforcement actions and remedial and removal actions; defines Superfund enforcement goals and principles; identifies objectives of Superfund enforcement reforms; and highlights current enforcement priorities of the EPA.
• Understand the EPA’s fundamental principles and policies related to enforcement, the four types of potentially responsible parties (PRP), common defenses against liability and other enforcement policies. The course examines the four classes of PRPs, identifies PRP’s defenses and exemptions to liabilities, and identifies major enforcement discretionary policies.
• Understand the Superfund enforcement process and the roles of states, tribes, Federal agencies and communities in the enforcement process. The course examines and applies EPA’s cost recovery strategy and discretionary enforcement policies, as well as the roles of administrative and judicial law in the enforcement process.
• Develop their ability to use the tools available to encourage settlements. Participants will learn about the various types of enforcement tools, such as alternative dispute resolution, that are used in the settlement process.

Superfund 101 is recommended for new OSCs and RPMs as well as other programmatic and field support staff (i.e., enforcement personnel, HQ regional coordinators, Special Team members) as well as other federal agency, state and tribal environmental professionals involved in cleanups at Superfund sites. THIS COURSE IS NOT OPEN TO ACADEMIA, CONSULTANTS, CONTRACTORS OR ANY PRIVATE ENTITIES. In addition, the Superfund 101 course is a prerequisite for EPA employees who would like to attend the Removal and Remedial Process courses. 

Please note, non-EPA registrants may be asked to cancel their registration if the course reaches capacity, as priority to attend this course is given to EPA Superfund RPMs and OSCs.

Please note: For OSCs/RPMs to receive your certificate for this training, you will need to attend class until 3:00 p.m. local time on Friday. Please plan your travel accordingly.

*This course is offered free of charge to all registrants who are confirmed to attend.*