CEC Joins Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council Industry Affiliates Program

To aid in the development of technical guidance to support improved consistency in environmental matters influencing regulatory programs at the state level, CEC has joined the Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council (ITRC) Industry Affiliates Program (IAP).

ITRC is a state-led coalition of individuals that collaborate so that the latest technologies, strategies, and paradigms are available to everyone looking for guidance on environmental matters. Interdisciplinary consultants, regulators, engineers, and other professionals from all 50 states and the District of Columbia all contribute to various guidance documents, fact sheets, and training courses to help guide the general public and environmental community in broadening technical knowledge to help drive quality regulatory decision-making. Once the documents are finalized, ITRC members assist in ensuring the documents are available, understood, and used to promote multistate concurrence.

CEC is now poised to assist the environmental community with our breadth of experience and knowledge with active members on the following 2020 teams:

• 1,4-Dioxane
  Many states don’t have the necessary guidance to implement standards or guidelines regarding 1,4-Dioxane site assessment, detection, monitoring, and remediation. This ITRC team provides relevant input and is developing guidance documents and training resources.
• Incremental Sampling Methodology (ISM) Update
  Incremental sampling methodology improves the reliability of sample data and cuts the time and cost needed to investigate and remediate soil and sediment contamination. This ITRC Team is updating the guidance document and creating training resources.
• Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)
  Potential environmental impacts from the manufacturing and use of PFAS are believed to be widespread because these compounds are persistent in the environment and degrade only under extreme circumstances; the science and understanding of PFAS are constantly evolving. This ITRC Team is updating technical resources, developing training resources, establishing a new subgroup to support states, and performing classroom trainings.
• Strategy for Preventing and Managing Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms (HCBs)
  Determining effective mitigation strategies for HCBs is a challenge for regulators because approaches vary in scale and scope and include the need for watershed monitoring, modeling, and prediction. This ITRC Team is developing a guidance document, fact sheets, and web tools.
• Use of Soil Background Concentrations in Risk Assessment
  Stakeholders inconsistently define “background,” use sampling methods, and apply statistical methods in risk assessment. Meanwhile, valuable methods of data collection such as geochemical evaluations and forensic methods are not widely used. This ITRC Team is creating a guidance document and training resources.
• Vapor Intrusion Mitigation
  While the investigation of contaminated soil and groundwater has been around for decades, vapor intrusion has only come to the forefront in the last 10–15 years, so the science for movement and mitigation of subsurface vapors is continuing to provide valuable insight. This ITRC Team is developing fact sheets and other tools.

Membership in the IAP confirms CEC’s place as a key force in improving the use of innovative environmental technologies and processes. Our IAP membership will allow CEC to participate in the development of uniform national guidance and standards, to co-author guidance documents and fact sheets, to anticipate important technical and regulatory developments, to engage with state and federal regulators, and to develop stronger relationships with various subject matter experts.

“Membership on these ITRC Teams provides CEC an opportunity to effect the content of technical documents that state and federal regulators rely on as the Standard Operating Procedures to address each topic,” remarks Tom Maher, P.G., CEC’s Corporate Environmental Practice Lead.

We will announce updates about these ITRC Teams and guidance documents as they occur. If you have any questions or if you wish to discuss any environmental strategies, please contact Tom Maher, P.G., at 412-249-3135 or tmaher@cecinc.com. 

Related blog posts:

• Is Your Ohio Watershed Ready? (August 2, 2019)
• U.S. EPA Releases Action Plan on PFAS (April 22, 2019)
• The History and the State of Vapor Intrusion in 2019 (February 8, 2019)
• New Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Rules Coming to New Jersey (January 31, 2019)
• Potential for Near-Future U.S. EPA Regulations for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (January 15, 2019)
• PADEP’s New (And Improved) Vapor Intrusion Guidance (August 1, 2017)