U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys (USEPA) working definition of optimization as of December 2011 is as follows: A systematic site review by a team of independent technical experts, at any phase of a cleanup process, to identify opportunities to improve remedy protectiveness, effectiveness and cost efficiency, and to facilitate progress toward completion of site work. An optimization review considers the goals of the remedy, available site data, conceptual site model (CSM), remedy performance, protectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and closure strategy. A strong interest in sustainability has also developed in the private sector and within Federal, State, and Municipal governments. Consistent with this interest, optimization now routinely considers green remediation and environmental footprint reduction during optimization reviews. An optimization review includes reviewing site documents, interviewing site stakeholders, potentially visiting the site for one day, and compiling a report that includes recommendations in the following categories: Protectiveness Cost-effectiveness Technical improvement Site closure Environmental footprint reduction The recommendations are intended to help the site team identify opportunities for improvements in these areas. In many cases, further analysis of a recommendation, beyond that provided in this report, may be needed prior to implementation of the recommendation. Note that the recommendations are based on an independent review, and represent the opinions of the review team. These recommendations do not constitute requirements for future action, but rather are provided for consideration by the Region and other site stakeholders. Also note that while the recommendations may provide some details to consider during implementation, the recommendations are not meant to replace other, more comprehensive, planning documents such as work plans, sampling plans, and quality assurance project plans (QAPP).