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TechDirect's purpose is to identify new technical, policy and   
guidance resources related to the assessment and remediation of   
contaminated soil, sediments and ground water.  
  
Mention of non-EPA documents or presentations does not   
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TechDirect audience.  
  
Open Solicitations  
  
SERDP Core Solicitation. The DoD Strategic Environmental   
Research and Demonstration Program (SERDP) released its annual   
Core solicitation for FY 2009 in November. Both federal and   
non-federal organizations may participate. SERDP is seeking   
proposals for environmental research and development efforts to   
identify, develop, and transition the underlying science and   
environmental technologies that support the long-term   
sustainability of DoD's training and testing ranges as well as   
significantly reduce current and future environmental   
liabilities. SERDP has four areas in its Statements of Need   
(SON), which include: environmental restoration, munitions   
management, sustainable infrastructure, and weapons systems and   
platforms. For the CORE solicitation, pre-proposals from the   
non-federal sector are due by January 8, 2008. Proposals from   
the federal sector are due by March 6, 2008. The SONs and   
detailed instructions for federal and private sector proposers   
are available at http://www.serdp.org/funding .  
  
SERDP SEED Solicitation. SERDP also will be funding   
environmental research and development through the SERDP   
Exploratory Development (SEED) program. The SEED program is   
designed to provide initial funding for high-risk, high-payoff   
projects. For FY2009, proposals are being requested that   
respond to one SEED Statement of Need in Munitions Management.   
All SEED proposals are due by March 6, 2008. The SEED SON and   
detailed instructions for both federal and non-federal proposers   
are available http://www.serdp.org/funding .  
  
NIEHS SBRP Solicitation. The National Institute of   
Environmental Health Sciences' (NIEHS) Superfund Basic Research   
Program (SBRP) has released a new Funding Opportunity   
Announcement (FOA), entitled 'Development and Application of   
Nanotechnology-based Tools to Understand Mechanisms of   
Bioremediation.' The FOA objective is to enhance our   
understanding of biological populations involved in the   
bioremediation of hazardous substances by integrating or   
adapting innovative nanotechnology-based tools. To be eligible,   
your organization must be an accredited US institution of higher   
education. Letters of intent are requested by January 16, 2008   
and final applications are due February 15, 2008. For more   
information, contact Heather Henry henryh@niehs.nih.gov,   
919-541-5330) or visit   
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supp ...  
.cfm .  
  
Upcoming Live Internet Seminars  
  
Ecological Restoration Resources Available through EPA - Part 1   
- December 3. Ecological revitalization can return damaged land   
to a state of health, vitality, and diversity. This presentation   
will identify fact sheets, papers and training available on   
revitalization through EPA's OSRTI; and present ongoing work   
such as compilation of resources available - web-based,   
terrestrial carbon sequestration potential on amended sites,   
future internet seminars and case studies, and an OSWER document   
on converting disturbed sites to green space. Although OSRTI   
conducts research in the interest of the Superfund program, it   
believes that these resources on ecological restoration can be   
useful to any site restoration project. This seminar will also   
feature a case study about the Hog Island and Newton Creek   
Ecological Restoration project on the restoration of natural   
communities and ecosystem processes for Newton Creek, the Hog   
Island Inlet, and Hog Island in Superior, Wisconsin. The   
ecological restoration process for this site along with   
information on a template that can be used for other projects   
will be discussed. For more information and to register, see   
http://clu-in.org/studio .  
  
Ecological Restoration Resources Available through EPA - Part 2   
- December 5. Ecological Restoration at hazardous waste sites,   
including RCRA sites, can provide many benefits to surrounding   
community. The speaker will cover some of the resources   
available on ecological restoration, including EPA's GreenScapes   
program. The speaker will also provide a few examples of   
ecological restoration at RCRA sites. The second presentation   
will focus on the use of biosolids for restoration of   
contaminated sites/reclamation of drastically disturbed lands.   
Over half of the 7 Million dry metric tons of biosolids produced   
by wastewater treatment plants in the U.S. are currently land   
applied in various forms (e.g., aerobically or anaerobically   
digested, alkaline treated, air or heat dried; liquid, dewatered   
cake, composted, pelletized), mostly to agricultural land, but   
also to forest land and reclamation sites. Land reclamation   
projects involving biosolids have been used to improve soil   
conditions and support revegetation of highly disturbed and in   
some cases contaminated sites (e.g., surface mines, mine waste   
piles, construction sites, barrow pits, sand dunes, areas   
devastated by forest fires) all across the country, with some   
projects demonstrating sustainable vegetation and continued soil   
improvement for more than 30 years. For more information and to   
register, see http://clu-in.org/studio .  
  
ITRC Performance-based Environmental Management - December 11.   
Performance-based environmental management (PBEM) is a   
strategic, goal-oriented methodology that is implemented through   
effective planning and decision logic to reach a desired end   
state of site cleanup. The goal of PBEM is to be protective of   
human health and the environment while efficiently implementing   
appropriate streamlined cleanup processes. This ITRC training   
presents an overview of what PBEM is, explains how and when to   
implement it, and describes the issues that regulators are   
concerned about throughout PBEM's implementation. Case studies   
will be presented to illustrate successful PBEM projects. The   
course is valuable not only because PBEM is being proposed and   
implemented at many federal and private sites throughout the   
country, but also because PBEM provides an opportunity to   
enhance all site remediation. For more information and to   
register, see http://www.itrcweb.org or http://clu-in.org/studio   
.  
  
ITRC An Overview of Direct-push Well Technology for Long-term   
Groundwater Monitoring - December 13. Direct-push wells have   
been used for temporary groundwater monitoring purposes for many   
years but are generally prohibited for use as long-term   
groundwater monitoring wells. Recent research indicates that   
direct-push wells are as well suited for long-term environmental   
groundwater monitoring purposes as conventionally constructed   
wells. This training introduces ITRC's The Use of Direct-push   
Well Technology for Long-term Environmental Monitoring in   
Groundwater Investigations (SCM-2, 2006), provides a background   
in the principles of direct-push wells, and presents the state   
of the art regarding recent research. For more information and   
to register, see http://www.itrc