Contact Superfund, Pacific Southwest
Pacific Southwest, Region 9
Serving: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Pacific Islands, Tribal Nations
Greener Cleanups
EPA and Navy Collaborate on Greener Cleanups at Superfund Sites
Resources
Proclamation of Intent: Green and Sustainable Remediation Strategies (PDF) (1 pg, 100K)
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This interagency collaboration will help achieve Navy Secretary Ray Mabus' goal "to be better stewards of the Earth."
In June, senior officials of EPA and the Department of the Navy signed an agreement to collaborate and conduct environmental footprints analyses to support greener cleanups on both active and closed Navy installations in the Pacific Southwest Region.
The Proclamation commits to a “one government” approach that leverages expertise, reduces costs, and supports achievement of the President’s Executive Order 13514, Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance. 
EPA recently released its Methodology for Understanding and Reducing a Project's Environmental Footprint that presents green remediation metrics associated with contaminated site cleanup, and a process to quantify those metrics in order to achieve a greener cleanup. Further the Navy has adopted a policy to use environmental footprint analyses in various stages of the cleanup process such as remedy selection and optimization. To save resources and expand the scope of pilot studies, EPA and the Navy are also leveraging a DoD funded national environmental footprint study.
Under the Proclamation, the parties will also:
- Recommend additional or new approaches for consideration in future EPA and Department of Defense guidance.
- Incorporate green practices, such as water reuse, soil consolidation, alternative energy sources, and optimization of pump and treat remedies in remedial actions.
- Evaluate the applicability of these analyses and other greener cleanup practices to other Navy Superfund sites in the region.
- Continue to strengthen partnerships with States and other Federal agencies, and publicize these efforts on respective web sites.
Michael Montgomery, former EPA Superfund Assistant Director for Federal Facilities, noted that “the Navy has been a leader in conducting environmental footprint studies on military installations, and pilot testing innovatative technology such as long term production of energy from landfill gas at Camp Pendleton. We look forward to working together to further “green up these cleanups.”
Contact Information
Michael Gill (Gill.Michael@epa.gov)
US EPA Pacific Southwest Region
(415) 972-3054