Mary-Linda Adams, (former) Vice President of RRI, presented RRI's environmental technologies at the White House Conference Center in Washington, D.C.  The 45-minute presentation was given to the Environmental Technology Working Group (ETWG) of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, which works directly for the Executive Office of the President.

The presentation, which included slides, selected case studies, and a question and answer session, described RRI's use of 3D seismic imaging technology to characterize and remediate hazardous waste sites.  The following is the abstract for Ms. Adams' presentation that appeared in ETWG monthly meeting agenda:

The use of 3D acoustic imaging to characterize and remediate groundwater at hazardous waste sites - Shallow 3D acoustic reflection imaging has been used to characterize and then to help design remedial alternatives at hazardous waste sites. The technique has proven to be especially useful in the more rapid and accurate assessment of a site; the identification of preferential pathways, the precise location of monitor wells or recovery systems; and, the location of DNAPL as free product pools or ganglia.

 

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Mission and History of the ETWG, and a Definition of Environmental Technology

Mission: the ETWG assists in the continuing implementation, evaluation, and enhancement of domestic and international activities conducted to advance the national environmental technology strategy by:

• Proposing and helping to implement federal policies, programs, and initiatives to enhance the development and deployment of environmental technologies - emphasizing pollution prevention and resource efficiency - in both the domestic and international marketplaces;

• Coordinating federal policies and programs for environmental technologies on an interagency basis, and facilitating the exchange of information about federal environmental technology programs and initiatives in the public- and private-sectors;

• Identifying and fostering new areas and pathways for technology innovation which can provide effective solutions to complex environmental issues, and

• Advancing sustainable development through the deployment of environmental technologies, by creating opportunities for applied research and development; commercialization and transfer, and financing - globally.

Historically, a federal interagency focus on environmental technologies first began in 1992. The ETWG was initially established under the President's Office of Science and Technology Policy. In 1997, the ETWG was organizationally realigned under the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). ETWG members represent the interests of about two dozen federal agencies and departments.

The scope of the ETWG's work is circumscribed by the following definition: an environmental technology reduces human and ecological risks, enhances cost effectiveness, improves process efficiency, and creates products and processes that are environmentally beneficial or benign. The word "technology" is intended to include hardware, software, systems, and services. Categories of environmental technologies include those that avoid environmental harm, control existing problems, remediate or restore past damage, and those that monitor or asses the state of the environment. This definition also encompasses energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, and it includes those technologies which reduce or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions.

The Interagency Environmental Technology Office (IETO), supports the work of the ETWG across the full spectrum of federal agencies and departments. IETO also provides advice and access to individuals and organizations interested in interacting with the federal government on matters pertaining to environmental technologies. Customers include business and industry, education and research institutions, state and local government agencies, foreign governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and other private- and public-sector entities, as well as communities and interested citizens.

For further information contact:

David Scott Smith, Co-Chairman
Environmental Technology Working Group, and
Executive Director, Interagency Environmental Technology Office
Tele: 202.408.6838

George Beuschold, Associate Executive Director
Interagency Environmental Technology Office
White House Council on Environmental Quality
730 Jackson Place, NW
Washington, D.C. 20503
Tele: 202.408.5028
Fax: 202.408.7590
E-mail: ieto@erols.com

Website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/CEQ/