The Removal Process for Remedial Project Managers (RPM) course focuses on the various aspects of the removal process and various methods of integrating removal actions at National Priorities List (NPL) sites to complete Superfund response activities as quickly and effectively as possible.

By taking the course, participants will achieve the following objectives:

• Understand the laws, regulations, policies and processes involved in Superfund removal actions. The course provides an overview of removal actions that help RPMs understand the role they play in the Superfund cleanup program.
• Identify removal authorities, recognize situations in which removal actions are appropriate and initiate removal actions. The course examines approaches to the evaluation and initiation of removal actions, emphasizing such challenges as meeting applicable or relevant and appropriate requirements (ARAR) during removal actions.
• Summarize the steps to be taken to implement the removal action and complete the necessary closeout procedures. The course provides a step-by-step review of the conduct of a removal action, from initial activities on site through closeout.
• Apply the RPM’s new knowledge to real-life situations. Participants are challenged to use the information acquired during the course to complete realistic exercises and case studies. They also have the opportunity to consider examples of actual issues and problems that arise during Superfund removal actions and the resolutions of such issues.

The Removal Process for RPMs course is a 2-day comprehensive training course intended for EPA RPMs who have at least six months of experience and are involved, or intend to be involved, with leading a removal action at NPL sites, although more experienced RPMs are encouraged to attend and share their field experiences with the class. 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.*

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 recorded webinar series (ARAR Talks) and in-class portion, both of which are required. The recorded 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 five 1-hour recorded webinars and a 2-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 complete a five-part pre-recorded webinar series called ARAR Talks, 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. Access to the webinars will be sent via email to registered participants approximately one month before the in-person component of the course to keep concepts current. Each ARAR Talks webinar recording is approximately 1-hour long for a total of 5 hours to complete at your own pace. If you have any questions regarding the webinars, please feel free to contact Elizabeth Kline, ICF at elizabeth.kline@icf.com.
 

The Removal Process course provides On-Scene Coordinators (OSC) and others who support the removal program with fundamental information and practical knowledge needed to plan, conduct or support removal actions effectively in response to releases of hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants as well as discharges of oil under the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). The Removal Process course is structured to follow the framework of the NCP. By taking the course, participants will achieve the following objectives:

• Learn to carry out the step-by-step process of conducting a removal action. The course follows the chain of events from site discovery to completion of the removal action, demonstrating how the enforcement process is integrated into various phases of the removal process.
• Understand the authorities and limitations of an OSC during a removal action. The course provides a comprehensive review of statutory and regulatory requirements, including an overview of response authority, requirements for public participation and regulations governing contracting services.
• Understand the Incident Command System/Unified Command (ICS/UC) and an OSC’s role during an emergency response. This course strengthens an OSC’s ability to use the ICS/UC effectively and reiterates the roles and responsibilities of an OSC during emergency responses to releases of hazardous substances. The course examines the organization of the ICS/UC and provides a thorough discussion of the planning and support functions associated with the ICS/UC.
• Use their newly developed knowledge and skills to solve real-life problems. Participants are challenged to apply the information and knowledge acquired during the course to realistic exercises and case studies and will be presented with tools and resources available to the OSC.

The Removal Process course is an intermediate 4.5 day training that is geared towards OSCs and other responders or removal program personnel (Headquarters regional coordinators, Removal Managers, enforcement personnel and Special Team members) who are responsible for or need to know about removal response activities under CERCLA as well as the Oil Pollution Act (OPA)/Clean Water Act (CWA). Other Federal Agency OSCs and State OSCs will also be permitted to attend, but priority will be given to EPA OSCs. THIS COURSE IS NOT OPEN TO ACADEMIA, CONSULTANTS, CONTRACTORS OR ANY PRIVATE ENTITIES. The Fundamentals of Superfund course is a prerequisite for EPA employees who would like to attend the Removal Process course.

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

This ERTP course is open to our Federal, State, Local and Tribal partners, with On-Scene Coordinators (OSC’s) and U.S. Coast Guard Staff having priority registration preference.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This 4-day course is designed for On-Scene Coordinators (OSCs) from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  The goal of this course, which covers portions of the legislation in the National Contingency Plan and the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, is to introduce new OSCs and refresh current OSCs on the regulations, funding, and methodology for responding to oil spills.  

This course may be delivered in-person (at the EPA ERT Warehouse in Erlanger, KY) or virtually.

Topics that are covered in this course include the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, National Contingency Plan, understanding oil spill basics, accessing and using the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, oil spill response, alternative technologies, preparedness and prevention, case studies, and exercises.  Instructional methods include lectures, problem sessions, and interactive exercises that emphasize the practical and problem-solving skills related to spill control and cleanup.

After completing this course, participants will be able to:

• Discuss how major legislation relates to oil spill containment and cleanup activities.

• Identify basic technical issues associated with inland oil spills.

• Access and use the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund.

• Identify the basics of spill prevention control and countermeasure.

• Understand the use of basic containment and recovery methods.

• Discuss various agencies’ roles when responding to inland oil spills.

Course instructors may include current and former federal and state OSCs who may also serve as technical advisors in oil spill control and cleanup along with U.S. Coast Guard representatives.  Other instructors include experienced oil spill responders from the public and private sectors.

Class is limited to 30 students.

Continuing Education Units: 3.2

Participants must complete all modules for all days of the course to receive the course completion certificate.

COURSE MATERIALS

In compliance with Executive Order 13589 - Promoting Efficient Spending, Section 5; the ERTP will not be regularly printing or providing students hard copies of the course materials. The general course agenda is found at ertpvu.org.

QUESTIONS

For general information, contact the Shelly Norland/ERTP by telephone at 702-715-4969 or via e-mail at norland.shelly@epa.gov. 

For technical details related to course content, contact the EPA Oil Course Technical Lead – Fred Stroud by telephone at 702-784-8007 or via e-mail at stroud.fred@epa.gov. 

For all other details related to ERTP contractual matters, courses, as well as EPA's 5170 processing & approvals for this course, etc. contact ERTP staff at:

• Shelly Norland at 702-784-8004, norland.shelly@epa.gov, and
• Sean Gavlas at 702-784-8004, gavlas.sean@epa.gov

Unless otherwise specified, THIS COURSE, AND OTHER ERTP COURSES, IS NOT OPEN TO CONSULTANTS, CONTRACTORS, OR ANY PRIVATE ENTITIES.
*This course is offered free of charge to all registrants who are confirmed to attend.*

IMPORTANT NOTICES – Applicable to all ERTP courses :

1. 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.
    
2. 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.

Remedial Process Training is a beginner-level training course that provides a comprehensive examination of the technical and regulatory issues that Remedial Project Managers (RPMs) must address as they coordinate, direct and review remedial response efforts at Superfund sites. By taking the course, participants will be better able to:

• Plan and implement remedial response activities at Superfund sites using effective methods. The course discusses risk management, smart scoping, remedial technologies, applicable or relevant and appropriate requirements (ARARs), Superfund decision documents, remedial design and remedial action (RD/RA), and community involvement.
• Identify and incorporate the various regulatory and policy aspects of the Superfund program. The course reviews requirements for all phases of the remedial process including RI/FS, remedy selection, RD/RA, operation and maintenance, site close out, five-year reviews, and remedy optimization.
• Integrate community involvement activities into the remedial process. The course discusses the principles of community involvement, the role of community involvement plans, and various methods of dealing with problems related to community involvement, including conflict management and effective negotiation.
• Practice applying the concepts covered during the course. Participants take part in a series of exercises that gives them the opportunity to apply their newly acquired skills and knowledge to a hypothetical site, reflecting the real-life experience of RPMs working in the Superfund program.

The Remedial Process Training course is comprised of four webinars and three days of in-person instruction. The webinars help participants develop a baseline understanding of the remedial process and the in-person instruction builds on this baseline with activities and group exercises. The course is designed for RPMs and other environmental professionals who have one to three years of experience in the Superfund program and who are responsible for or need to know about remedial response activities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The Fundamentals of Superfund course is a prerequisite for EPA employees who would like to attend the Remedial Process course.

This ERTP course is open to our Federal, State, Local and Tribal partners, with On-Scene Coordinators (OSC’s) and U.S. Coast Guard Staff having priority registration preference.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This 5-day course is designed primarily for On-Scene Coordinators (OSCs) from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), state agencies, and other first responders is delivered at the EPA ERT Warehouse in Erlanger, Kentucky.  The goal of this course is to have participants learn then demonstrate containment and recovery techniques for an inland oil spill in either a fast or slow water environment.  Participants will learn boater safety; operate boats and deploy containment boom on lakes or rivers; provide protection to shorelines and sensitive areas; establish an oil recovery site; and install weirs, underflow dams and filter fences on streams.

This course will be delivered in-person.  Instructional methods include classroom instruction, case studies, and primarily on-water field work.

After completion of the course, the participants will be able to demonstrate or discuss small boat safety and operations, various methods of containment boom deployment and anchoring, recovery site selection and operations, and health and safety issues relevant to oil spill response and recovery operations.  All this will be based on the topics presented, situations covered, and suitability of the selected location(s) for delivery.

Course instructors may include current and former federal and state OSCs who may also serve as technical advisors in oil spill control and cleanup.  Other instructors include experienced oil spill responders from the public and private sectors.

Class size is limited to 30 students. 

Continuing Education Units: 4.0

Participants must complete all modules for all days of the course to receive the course completion certificate.

This course includes hands-on field activities that can be strenuous.

COURSE PARTICIPATION NOTES**

**Attendees will need to wear appropriate attire for fieldwork and on-water operations.  This includes appropriate work gloves, eye protection, footwear, and outerwear for foul weather.  Attendees are encouraged to bring their own sunscreen, insect repellant, and Personal Flotation Device (PFD) since supplies will be limited.*

COURSE MATERIALS

In compliance with Executive Order 13589 - Promoting Efficient Spending, Section 5; the ERTP will not be regularly printing or providing students hard copies of the course materials. The general course agenda is found at ertpvu.org.

QUESTIONS

For general information, contact the Registrar by telephone at 513-251-7669 or via e-mail at ertp-registrar2@tetratech.com. 

For technical details related to course content, including tailoring of course content, contact the EPA Oil Course Technical Lead – Fred Stroud by telephone at 702-784-8007 or via e-mail at stroud.fred@epa.gov. 

For all other details related to ERTP contractual matters, courses, as well as EPA's 5170 processing & approvals for this course, etc. contact ERTP staff at:

• Shelly Norland at 702-784-8004, norland.shelly@epa.gov, and
• Sean Gavlas at 702-784-8004, gavlas.sean@epa.gov

Unless otherwise specified, THIS COURSE, AND OTHER ERTP COURSES, IS NOT OPEN TO CONSULTANTS, CONTRACTORS, OR ANY PRIVATE ENTITIES.
*This course is offered free of charge to all registrants who are confirmed to attend.*

IMPORTANT NOTICES – Applicable to all ERTP courses :

1. 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.
    
2. 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.

The Groundwater High-Resolution Site Characterization (HRSC) training course focuses on groundwater characterization and discusses (1) the impacts of subsurface heterogeneity on the investigation and cleanup of groundwater and related media, (2) the need for scale-appropriate measurements and adequate data density, and (3) the tools and strategies that are available to overcome the impacts of subsurface heterogeneity. The course addresses the following technical content:

• Defining and explaining the need for and benefits of HRSC
• Understanding the sources and attributes of subsurface heterogeneity and their impact on hydrogeology, contaminant fate and transport, and source and plume relationships
• Defining and using scale-appropriate measurements, adequate data density and collaborative data sets
• Explaining the application of HRSC to the characterization of integrated media, including groundwater, soil, soil vapor, surface water, sediments and bedrock
• Evaluating potentially applicable tools for subsurface investigations of shallow unconsolidated environments, deep unconsolidated environments, fractured and porous media, and the groundwater and surface water interface
• Developing effective HRSC implementation and investigation strategies
• Managing and visualizing HRSC data for decision making
• Applying HRSC to remedy design, implementation and optimization

After taking this course, participants will be armed with information that will allow them to improve their subsurface investigation approaches and develop more realistic and comprehensive conceptual site models (CSM). CSMs developed based on HRSC strategies and tools will decrease site uncertainty, improve the remedy selection process for groundwater remedies, and better enable the evaluation, design, and implementation of targeted in situ and ex situ groundwater remedies.

The Groundwater HRSC course is an advanced 3-day course. The recommended audience includes EPA, federal, state, and tribal technical project managers, practitioners and other stakeholders involved in groundwater investigation and remediation.THE COURSE IS NOT OPEN TO ACADEMIA, CONSULTANTS, CONTRACTORS OR ANY PRIVATE ENTITIES.

Please note pre-work is required for this course. Attendees will be required to listen to recordings of a two-part webinar series that will cover introductory materials including an introduction to HRSC and hydrogeology and the impacts of subsurface heterogeneity. Each webinar recording is 2.5 hours long and is presented by the same instructors involved in the classroom portion of the training. Please remember if you plan to attend a classroom version of the course, you must provide documentation that you listened to both recordings. After listening to the recordings and completing the evaluation form, you will receive a certificate of completion. Please email a copy of both certificates to Jodi McCarty, ICF at jodi.mccarty@icf.com prior to the classroom delivery you are registered for.

The recordings of the introductory modules can be found here: Module 1 - https://www.clu-in.org/conf/tio/HRSC_021422/ and Module 2 - https://www.clu-in.org/conf/tio/HRSC_021722/. Remember this is a two-part series so you must listen to both sessions 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.
 

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