This meeting’s theme was “Sustaining Core Programs Through Innovation and Reform”, and the meeting sessions focused on topics such as streamlining updated cleanup policies and navigating future funding challenges.
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This session will feature presentations from industry professionals on: PFAS fingerprinting studies, the technology, and the methodologies employed by environmental consultants to conduct these studies.
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This session will feature speakers from South Carolina Department of Environmental Services and Virginia Department of Environmental Quality providing an overview of their efforts to streamline their permit processes.
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The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act, also known as the Brownfields Law, was signed into law in 2002 and amended CERCLA to provide, among other things, liability protections for non-polluters including the Bonafide Prospective Purchaser Defense (BFPP). Numerous States have implemented programs that mirror the CERCLA law to facilitate brownfields redevelopment by incentivizing parties with a liability defense to invest in site cleanup and reuse with reduced legal risk.
This session will compare three State programs and the USEPA use of BFPP agreements, explore how liability protections have driven successful redevelopment, and look forward to the long-term maintenance of a BFPP defense. Attendees will gain practical insights and concepts on how to improve your State’s program and advance the work that has already started.
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A training for State & Territorial (States) regulators on how to recognize munitions, evaluate a site with potential UXO, and the unique challenges associated with planning a cleanup at Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP) sites.
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The Environmental Protection Agency Office of Underground Storage Tanks (OUST) is working closely with States to understand how programs are increasing the pace of UST release cleanups. The goal is to analyze state data to identify and share successful practices for quickly addressing new UST releases, ultimately preventing them from becoming future legacy sites. This work aligns with Administrator Zeldin’s Pillar 1: Clean Air, Land, and Water for Every American.
OUST worked with ASTSWMO to create a workgroup with multiple States to analyze UST release and cleanup data and gather best practices. In this interactive session, the workgroup will present on best practices for quickly addressing UST releases. They will also facilitate discussion with the audience to gather information from other States and Territories on what they are doing to address releases quickly. The audience is encouraged to bring their own perspectives and best practices for addressing new UST releases, and what they would like to do moving forward to increase the pace of cleanups in their program.
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The Johnson and Ettinger (J&E) model has long served as a key tool for evaluating vapor intrusion risks at contaminated sites, but its use has been limited by outdated features and known computational bugs. This session introduces the newly updated J&E model, addressing past issues to ensure reliable and accurate risk assessments. Attendees will learn how the revised model can now serve as a robust line of evidence in vapor-related risk evaluations, supporting safe redevelopment and reuse of contaminated properties.
Experts will discuss the model’s enhanced functionality, integration into regulatory frameworks, and practical applications for ensuring public health and environmental protection at vapor intrusion sites. This session is essential for environmental consultants, risk assessors, and project managers working to facilitate safe and sustainable redevelopment.
The RCRA CMS sets a minimum inspection frequency of at least 20% of the large quantity generator (LQG) universe in a State. This requirement is implemented through grant workplans and is evaluated annually through the both the ECHO Annual Data Metric Analysis (ADMA) and every 5 years through the State Review Framework (SRF). Because State grant funding and program effectiveness evaluations are based on meeting the 20% LQG inspection requirement, resources are often prioritized to meet these requirements and are not dedicated to address compliance monitoring issues at other types of facilities. This session will offer the opportunity for a discussion of flexibilities within the CMS and how States can implement them, along with a discussion of whether modifications are required to the CMS to allow additional flexibilities.
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The session will begin with an overview of the national landscape of fee models and cover how States have structured fees for different programs. It is intended to highlight 1) different approaches utilized by individual States and 2) opportunities States have explored to revisit their fee structures in light of increasing program costs, potential federal shortfalls, or both.
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The Financial Responsibility Task Force will present its ongoing work on the Abandoned Tanks project. This session will explore how states and territories define—or choose not to define—“abandoned” tanks through statutes, regulations, or common usage, with the ultimate goal of linking these definitions to funding mechanisms for remediation.
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Join the National Brownfields Coalition for a high-impact session on the latest federal brownfield policies, legislation, and 2026 appropriations. Discover what is ahead for U.S. EPA brownfield grants, the push to reinstate the federal brownfield tax deduction, and why engaging elected officials is critical to advancing your projects. You will gain practical tools to track legislation, influence policy, and elevate your work. This session will feature an interactive exercise to help you define actionable goals for advocating for sustained federal support for brownfield initiatives in your community or organization and leave you ready to strengthen your voice in Washington, DC. with the National Brownfields Coalition.
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Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming project intelligence in the environmental sectors. This session explores the dual challenge of harnessing AI as a powerful project collaborator while navigating the path to regulatory acceptance. This session will discuss practical applications, including imagery analysis, advanced data interpretation, efficiency, and assistance in decision-making; while also addressing the critical need for a clear regulatory framework, challenges, and considerations that agencies and consultants must navigate to ensure AI is implemented responsibly, ethically, and effectively.
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A discussion of fully electronic manifesting of hazardous waste that included presentations by the Environmental Technology Council (ETC) and by U.S. EPA.
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Recipients of EPA's OUST grants are required to track the source and cause of petroleum releases from USTs, but identifying the source and cause can be particularly challenging. The State of Colorado's interactive session will identify the problems and common misconceptions with categorizing the source and cause of releases and how they have tried to improve the data. The State of Nebraska will provide perspective on how UST and LUST programs work together to track source and cause of release.
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