In June, the Western Governors' Association dissolved its Committee to Develop On-Site Innovative Technologies, because DOIT's work had been completed. However, one of DOIT's working groups has a good chance of living on. The Interstate Technology and Regulatory Cooperation Working Group was charged by DOIT in June 1995 to seek ways to encourage state environmental regulatory agencies to cooperate in permitting innovative technologies. In its final report, the DOIT Committee recommended that governors make the ITRC Working Group permanent, so it can "continue its role as a forum for interstate cooperation on the regulation and permitting of new technologies."
One of the barriers to deployment of innovative technologies is the hardship encountered by technology developers who bear the time and expense of having to demonstrate their technologies in each state where they are proposed for use in full-scale cleanups. In its final report, the DOIT Committee recommended streamlining and coordinating state permitting processes and encouraged the interstate sharing of demonstration results. Technology demonstrations should involve a number of regulators from key states, as well as federal regulators, to explore opportunities for interstate permitting cooperation.
During this past year, one of the task groups of the ITRC Working Group has been particularly busy. The Case Studies Task Group has been documenting the experiences of state environmental departments that have shown success in facilitating the permitting of innovative technologies. Working in cooperation with the Colorado Center for Environmental Management, the task group conducted in-depth, face-to-face interviews with state regulators and has published the results in Case Studies of Regulatory Acceptance: In Situ Bioremediation Technologies. The purpose of the report is to share lessons learned with regulatory decision makers in other states.
The task group chose in situ bioremediation as the example innovative technology, because the group felt it represented a cost-effective, safe, and successful technology but a technology that was not widely used due to institutional and regulatory barriers. The group defined institutional barriers as springing from the human tendency to fear unknown consequences. Because in situ bioremediation often involves the injection of additives into ground water, the task group identified a regulatory conflict between state agencies responsible for remediation and state agencies responsible for ground water quality. Injection of additives that accelerate biodegradation of chemicals in ground water can impact ground water quality.
Because the task group wished to focus on states having success stories to share, they selected states they knew to have successfully implemented in situ bioremediation: Massachusetts, Illinois, New York, South Carolina, Montana, and Oregon.
The six states use various approaches to encourage the use of innovative technologies. Among the approaches are:
The task group found the case study approach to be valuable in soliciting candid responses from representatives of state environmental departments. Because the members of the task group are also state representatives from environmental departments, the interviews were occasions for colleagues to discuss professional concerns. The task group also believes the case studies are valuable in guiding other states to affect legislative, regulatory, organizational, and policy changes that encourage the deployment of innovative technologies.
The Federal Advisory Committee to Develop On-site Innovative Technologies, more commonly known as the DOIT Committee, held its last meeting on June 22, 1996. DOIT was a collaborative initiative between the Western Governors' Association and the U.S. Departments of Defense, Energy, Interior, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Since 1992, the DOIT Committee has been finding ways to expedite the evaluation, testing, and deployment of innovative environmental technologies.
Accomplishments
Approximately 500 people participated in DOIT, either as members of five working groups or seven site implementation teams, or as attendees at DOIT-sponsored forums. The working groups were: abandoned mine waste, mixed radioactive/hazardous waste, military munitions, hazardous waste generic technologies, and Interstate Technology and Regulatory Cooperation. DOIT identified emerging technologies and demonstration sites that the committee then used as test cases for applying its ideas on broadening tribal and stakeholder participation, streamlining states' permitting requirements, devising innovative procurement structures, and disseminating results of demonstrations.
As partners in the DOIT initiative, the Departments of Energy and Defense funded projects at seven sites where the focus was facilitating the demonstration of an emerging technology and/or creating effective and broad-based stakeholder groups.
Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site, Colorado
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Idaho Falls, Idaho
McClellan Air Force Base, Sacramento, California
Port Hueneme Naval Construction Battalion Center, California
Black Hills Army Depot, South Dakota
DOIT's regional field demonstrations are models for public involvement and regulatory reciprocity. At INEL, Sandia, and Rocky Flats, DOIT developed local Site Implementation Teams as the vehicle for public involvement, while demonstrations at Black Hills Army Depot and Port Hueneme used Restoration Advisory Boards. Regulators from other states attended and were involved in the demonstrations at McClellan Air Force Base and Hill Air Force Base.
