Environmental Response Training Program (ERTP)

Purpose

To train personnel from federal, state, tribal and local government agencies in the conduct of hazardous waste site investigation/remediation practices and procedures, as well as the management of emergency response to hazardous chemical releases. The program was created in response to the National Contingency Plan (NCP) and has operated since 1979 to provide training in all aspects of environmental and emergency response.

Logistics

The ERTP is managed by the Environmental Response Team in the Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (OSRTI). Ray Ledbetter is the Project Officer; he can be reached at 702-784-8008 or Ledbetter.Ray@epa.gov.

Course List

ERTP offers one to five day courses scheduled throughout the year as requested by the EPA Regional Training Coordinators as they receive requests for training from the EPA regional staff and tribal, state and local agencies. Course schedules for the current year and detailed descriptions of the courses can be found at http://www.trainex.org/catalog/bypartner_view.cfm?partner=ERTP. Course descriptions and course materials such as agendas and manuals can be found at the program's website http://www.ertpvu.org. ERTP offers courses for all aspects of the site characterization and remediation phases of hazardous waste sites and environmental and emergency response to hazardous materials incidents, intentional, accidental, and natural disasters:

Environmental and Emergency Response:

Hazardous Materials Technician – Trains emergency response personnel to recognize, evaluate and control a release of hazardous materials. This class fulfills the requirement under 29CFR1910.120 (q) 6iii for hazardous materials technician training.

Air Monitoring for Emergency Response – Focuses on direct reading instruments and includes substantial exercise time with various air monitoring instruments used by the U.S. EPA.

Advanced Radiation Training – Designed for personnel who support emergency response personnel to help with direct actions taken during the initial response to a radiation emergency event.

Oil Spill Response (Basic, Slow/Backwater, Fast Water and Combined) – Equips federal and state personnel who are involved in inland oil spill prevention and response with knowledge of oil spill cleanup technologies and techniques. This class involves significant field exercises around water bodies.

Level A Exercises Equips – On-Scene Coordinators and other response personnel with relevant skills involving the use of level A and B personnel protective equipment and monitoring instrumentation in response to chemical, biological, radiological and explosive events.

Full Scale and Functional Exercises – Exercises are designed to meet the needs of EPA, other federal response personnel and their tribal, state and local partners in maintaining the skills necessary to respond to natural and man-made events. These exercises are useful in assessing emergency plans, policies and procedures and to demonstrate readiness.

Incident Management Team – Functional Exercise Designed to exercise the regional incident management teams and their ability to function as a unit during an incident. The situation presented will test the communications within the team and their ability to create an incident action plan within the time allowed.

ICS -300: Intermediate Incident Command System – meets the National Incident Management System (NIMS) requirement for intermediate level training in the Incident Command System (ICS).

ICS-400: Advanced Incident Command System – meets the National Incident Management System (NIMS) requirement for advanced level training in the Incident Command System (ICS).

EPA-339 Division/Group Supervisor – meets the requirements and training needs under NIMS for the Division / Group Supervisor in the Operations Section.

EPA-346 Situation Unit Leader – meets the requirements and training needs under NIMS for the Situation Unit Leader in the Planning Section.

EPA-348/347 Resource Unit Leader – meets the requirements and training needs under NIMS for the Resource Unit Leader in the Planning Section.

EPA 349 Environmental Unit Leader – meets the requirements and training needs under NIMS for the Environmental Unit Leader in the Planning Section.

EPA 400 Incident Commander – meets the training requirements under NIMS and the EPA certification and qualifications for an Incident Commander on an Incident Management Team.

EPA 401 Liaison Officer – meets the training requirements under NIMS and the EPA certification and qualifications for a Liaison Officer on an Incident Management Team.

EPA 402 Scientific Support Coordinator – meets the requirements under the EPA certification and qualifications for a Scientific Support Coordinator.

EPA 403 Public Information Officer – meets the training requirements under NIMS and the EPA certification and qualifications for a Public Information Officer on an Incident Management Team.

EPA 404 Safety Officer – meets the training requirements under NIMS and the EPA certification and qualifications for a Safety Officer on an Incident Management Team.

EPA 430 Operations Section Chief – meets the training requirements under NIMS and the EPA certification and qualifications for an Operations Section Chief on an Incident Management Team.

EPA 440 Planning Section Chief – meets the training requirements under NIMS and the EPA certification and qualifications for a Planning Section Chief on an Incident Management Team.

EPA 450 Logistics Section Chief – meets the training requirements under NIMS and the EPA certification and qualifications for a Logistics Section Chief on an Incident Management Team.

EPA 460 Finance and Administration Section Chief – meets the training requirements under NIMS and the EPA certification and qualifications for a Finance and Administrative Section Chief on an Incident Management Team.

Site Characterization and Remediation:

Sampling for Hazardous Materials – Covers the fundamentals of sample plans and documentation and allows the students to practice the techniques of sampling for soil, groundwater, surface water, sediments and waste. Learn and practice several field screening techniques.

Chemistry for Environmental Professionals (Fundamentals and Applied) – Enhance the participants knowledge of environmentally significant chemicals and their reactions and transformations in the environment.

Introduction to Groundwater Investigations Teaches the basic geologic and hydrogeologic principals and theories. Illustrates the methods used to identify, track and quantify contamination in groundwater aquifers.

Advanced Groundwater Investigations – Enhances the groundwater investigative skills of experienced environmental professionals with regard to subsurface contamination investigations.

Environmental Remediation Technologies – Provides an overview of current engineering approaches for treatment of hazardous wastes in surface water, soils and groundwater.

Radiation Safety (Overview, and Practical) – Demonstrates the proper use of radiation detection instrumentation and fundamental work practices appropriate for the control of radiation exposure and contamination.

Introduction to Risk Assessment Guidance – Equips participants to use the principles of human health and ecological risk assessments and is designed to present an introduction to the Superfund risk assessment process to project managers, On-Scene Coordinators and risk assessment reviewers working at hazardous waste sites or treatment, storage and disposal facilities.  The course presents the methodologies for conducting baseline risk assessments and developing preliminary remediation goals.

Introduction to Environmental Geophysics – Demonstrates the proper use of common geophysical instrumentation and provides participants with practical information on the design and conduct of geophysical surveys of hazardous waste and brownfield sites. Techniques demonstrated and used include magnetics, electromagnetics, resistivity, seismic refraction and ground penetrating radar. This class includes significant field exercises with the instruments.

Overview of Environmental Geophysics – Provides participants a one day overview of the use of magnetics, electromagnetics, borehole logging and ground penetrating radar instrumentation with some field use of the instruments.

Health and Safety – 40 hour – Designed for personnel involved in the investigation and remediation of uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. This class provides participants with the fulfillment of the classroom requirement under 29CFR1910.120 (e) 3, the HAZWOPER standard.

Health and Safety Eight-Hour Refresher – Provides the annual refresher training for site workers who previously attended the Health and Safety 40 hour course.