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ENERGY CONSERVATION AND PRODUCTION AT WASTE CLEANUP SITES (ISSUE PAPER)
Impact/Purpose:
The objective of this paper is to raise awareness and help project managers and others recognize the need to consider energy reduction and production during the design and operation and maintenance of waste cleanup systems (Superfund, RCRA, Brownfields).
Description:
Saving energy used by hazardous waste cleanup remediation systems should interest those people working on waste cleanup sites. Presidential Executive Order 13123, "Greening the Government Through Efficient Energy Management", states that each agency shall strive to expand the use of renewable energy within its facilities and in its activities by implementing renewable energy projects. The U.S. EPA has written this issue paper to raise awareness and help project managers and others recognize the need to consider energy reduction and possibly production during the design and operation and maintenance (O&M) of Superfund, RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) and Brownfields waste clean up systems. This issue paper identifies and summarizes experiences with energy efficiency and tries to apply this perspective to waste clean up sites and can help EPA and non-EPA project managers consider energy efficiency and production. Follow-on work is planned where more detailed information will be provided. A number of tools are under consideration for development or are already available to aid the project manager. Development of a checklist as a simple tool can aid the project manager when conducting energy audits on their cleanup system designs. An example energy checklist has been tested at two Superfund sites, which were used as case studies. In the future, the possibility of incorporating checklists into existing EPA guidance documents like the remedial design / remedial action handbook, optimization guidance, and 5-Year Review guidance will be investigated. This paper has been developed by EPA's Superfund Engineering Forum under the Technical Support Project with the support of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (US ACE). EPA document #: 542-S-04-001 http://www.epa.gov/tio/tsp/download/epa542s4001.pdf
