Appendix B. State Survey and State Survey Results

In the fall of 2019, the SRR team conducted a state survey. The survey asked for information on green and sustainable regulations, policies, guidance; and activities; extreme weather and fire events; and information on what resources would be helpful to the state. The team received 52 responses to the survey. The survey instrument is presented in section B.1 and the results are presented section B.2.

B.1 State Survey

GSR & Resiliency State Priorities Survey

The ITRC Green and Sustainable Remediation with Resiliency to Extreme Weather Event and Wildfires Team (GSR/R) has just begun updating the 2011 GSR guidance to support sustainable, resilient remediation and redevelopment of contaminated sites.

States’ needs are foremost and your response to this survey will guide how we develop resources for you.

For further background please review the Team Page and the associated fact sheet, both found HERE.

GSR is the site-specific employment of products, processes, technologies, and procedures that mitigate contaminant risk to receptors while making decisions that are cognizant of balancing community goals, economic impacts, and environmental effects.

Extreme weather events (such as heat waves, droughts, tornadoes, and hurricanes) are defined as lying in the outermost (“most unusual”) 10 percent of a place’s history. Analyses are available at the national and regional levels.

Resilience is the capacity of a community, business, or natural environment to prevent, withstand, respond to, and recover from a disruption.

SURVEY PERIOD: October 8, 2019 through November 6, 2019

If you have any questions, please contact the Team’s Program Advisor, Barbara Maco (barbara.maco@sustainableremediation.org)

1. Please provide your contact information:

Name:
State and Department:
Job Title:
Email Address:
Phone Number:

2. Does your state have any existing GSR regulation, policy, or guidance? (See GSR definition above)

Yes

Unsure / Do Not Know

If YES, please provide the reference/link:

3. Check all of the following extreme weather/climate or wildfire events that have or might impact your state. Please note any related impact such as increased/decreased stormwater runoff in the comment box.

Sustained changes in average temperature	Increased flood risk
Increased extreme temperatures	Decreased permafrost
Decreased precipitation days, increasing drought intensity	Sea level rise
Increased heavy precipitation events	Increased frequency and/or intensity of wildfires
Increased intensity of hurricanes
Other (please specify)

4. At which stages is your state planning for resiliency to address extreme weather events and wildfires? If you have NONE, please put NA in the category box. If YES, please provide a reference and/or web link.

Assessment / Identification:

State-Managed Climate Change Information Clearinghouse or Data Resource:

State Agency or Department Lead:

Comprehensive Plan:

Executive Order:

Regulation / Statue:

Other (please specify):

5. Does your state have any policy, strategy, regulatory framework, requirements, or guidance for addressing the impacts of extreme weather events and wildfires at remediation sites, both active and closed?

Yes

Unsure / Do Not Know

If YES, please provide a reference/link. If NO, is your state planning on this in the future?

6. Does your state have an emergency response plan for extreme weather events and wildfire impacts at contaminated sites?

Yes

Unsure / Do Not Know

7. Has your state seen GSR applied in any of the following site cleanup programs? Provide key information in comment section.

State lead

CERCLA NPL

RCRA

Time critical removal

Brownfields

Please note key elements of implementation here.

8. What are the GSR implementation barriers for your state? Please note what they are in the comment box below.

Regulatory barriers

Technical barriers

Lack of information

Cost

List the barriers

9. Rate the following items that might lead to a more sustainable resilient remediation and redevelopment in your state.

	Rating
State or Federal legislation/regulatory mandate
State or Federal grant incentives
Local permits, regulations, or ordinances
Private certification (e.g. LEED, Envision)
Land use/institutional controls

10. Metrics provide a basis for evaluating actions being considered throughout the site cleanup and redevelopment process and can apply to more than one component of GSR… environmental, economic and or social. Please indicate if these metrics have been used at cleanup projects in your state or their potential value for future cleanups.

	Rating
Environmental metrics (greenhouse gas emissions created or energy consumed)
Economic metrics (such as job creation/preservation)
Social metrics (parkland or open space created)

11. Does your state recommend/encourage GSR best management practices (BMPs) at contaminated site cleanup and redevelopment.

Yes

Unsure / Do Not Know

12. What types of BMP resources would your state like to see in the ITRC GSR/R guidance?

Remedial technology/approach evaluation (such as a feasibility study)

Remedial technology/approach optimization

Remedial technology/approach implementation

Risk management

Long-term monitoring

stakeholder engagement

Other (please specify):

13. Would a sustainable remediation guidance/framework that also addresses extreme weather events and wildfire impacts at contaminated sites be useful for your state?

Yes

Unsure / Do Not Know

14. Rate each case study topic based on its usefulness to support sustainable resilient remediation and redevelopment implementation in your state.

	Rating
technology/approach evaluation (such as a feasibility study)
technology/approach optimization
technology/approach implementation
Return on investment, including cost of externalities (e.g. social cost of carbon, ecosystem services)
Regulator collaboration and/or support
Community engagement with the impacted public
Stakeholder engagement to define sustainability metrics and tools
Risk management
Water conservation and reuse
Materials use/management
Circular economy

Other (please specify):

15. Does your state have any case studies/site examples that could be included in the ITRC GSR/Resiliency guidance?

Yes

Unsure / Do Not Know

16. Do you have any additional feedback that you would like to provide to help the ITRC GSR/R Team develop its guidance and other resources?

GSRR-team-state-survey.pdf

B.2 State Survey Results

Q1 Please provide your contact information:

Answered: 52, Skipped: 0

ANSWER CHOICES	RESPONSES
Name:	100.00%	52
State and Department:	100.00%	52
Job Title:	92.31%	48
Email Address:	100.00%	52
Phone Number:	98.08%	51

Q2 Does your state have any existing GSR regulation, policy, or guidance? (See GSR definition above)

Answered: 52 Skipped: 0

ANSWER CHOICES	RESPONSES
Yes	26.92%	14
No	34.6%	18
Don’t know/Unsure	38.4%	20
TOTAL		52

Q3 Check all of the following extreme weather/climate or wildfire events that have or might impact your state. Please note any related impact such as increased/decreased stormwater runoff in the comment box.

Answered: 50 Skipped: 2

ANSWER CHOICES	RESPONSES
Sustained changes in average temperature	74.00%	37
Increased extreme temperatures	68.00%	34
Decreased precipitation days, increasing drought intensity	64.00%	32
Increased heavy precipitation events	90.00%	45
Increased intensity of hurricanes	18.00%	9
Increased flood risk	84.00%	42
Decreased permafrost	12.00%	6
Sea level rise	42.00%	21
Increased frequency and/or intensity of wildfires	38.00%	19
Other (please specify)	28.00%	14
Total Respondents:		50

Q4 At which stages is your state planning for resiliency to address extreme weather events and wildfires? If you have NONE, please put NA in the category box. If YES, please provide a reference and/or web link.

Answered: 50 Skipped: 2

ANSWER CHOICES	RESPONSES
Assessment / Identification:	84.00%	42
State-Managed Climate Change Information Clearinghouse or Data Resource:	76.00%	38
State Agency or Department Lead:	66.00%	33
Comprehensive Plan:	62.00%	31
Executive Order:	62.00%	31
Regulation / Statue:	56.00%	28
Other (please specify):	32.00%	16

Q5 Does your state have any policy, strategy, regulatory framework, requirements, or guidance for addressing the impacts of extreme weather events and wildfires at remediation sites, both active and closed?

Answered: 51 Skipped: 1

ANSWER CHOICES	RESPONSES
Yes	13.73%	7
No	54.90%	28
Unsure / Do Not Know	31.37%	16
TOTAL		51

Q6 Does your state have an emergency response plan for extreme weather events and wildfire impacts at contaminated sites?

Answered: 52 Skipped: 0

ANSWER CHOICES	RESPONSES
Yes	23.08%	12
No	46.15%	24
Unsure / Do Not Know	30.77%	16
TOTAL		52

Q7 Has your state seen GSR applied in any of the following site cleanup programs? Provide key information in comment section.

Answered: 31 Skipped: 21

ANSWER CHOICES	RESPONSES
State lead	41.94%	13
CERCLA NPL	25.81%	8
RCRA	19.35%	6
Time critical removal	9.68%	3
Brownfields	41.94%	13
Total Respondents:		31

Q8 What are the GSR implementation barriers for your state? Please note what they are in the comment box below.

Answered: 46 Skipped: 6

ANSWER CHOICES	RESPONSES
Regulatory barriers	28.26%	13
Technical barriers	17.39%	8
Lack of information	65.22%	30
Cost	47.83%	22
Total Respondents:		46

Q9 Rate the following items that might lead to a more sustainable resilient remediation and redevelopment in your state.

Answered: 48 Skipped: 4

Rating	VERY HELPFUL	SOMEWHAT HELPFUL	NOT HELPFUL	TOTAL
State or Federal legislation/regulatory mandate	56.25% 27	37.50% 18	6.25% 3	48
State or Federal grant incentives	77.08% 37	20.83% 10	2.08% 1	48
Local permits, regulations, or ordinances	25.53% 12	57.45% 27	17.02% 8	47
Private certification (e.g. LEED, Envision)	10.42% 5	47.92% 23	41.67% 20	48
Land use/institutional controls	27.66% 13	59.57% 28	12.77% 6	47

Q10 Metrics provide a basis for evaluating actions being considered throughout the site cleanup and redevelopment process and can apply to more than one component of GSR… environmental, economic and or social. Please indicate if these metrics have been used at cleanup projects in your state or their potential value for future cleanups.

Answered: 45 Skipped: 7

Rating	High	Medium	Low	Total
Environmental metrics (greenhouse gas emissions created or energy consumed)	31.82% 14	20.45% 9	47.73% 21	44
Economic metrics (such as job creation/preservation)	41.86% 18	37.21% 16	20.93% 9	43
Social metrics (parkland or open space created)	27.27% 12	43.18% 19	29.55% 13	44

Q11 Does your state recommend/encourage GSR best management practices (BMPs) at contaminated site cleanup and redevelopment.

Answered: 51 Skipped: 1

ANSWER CHOICES	RESPONSES
Yes	33.33%	17
No	23.53%	12
Unsure / Do Not Know	43.14%	22
TOTAL		51

Q12 What types of BMP resources would your state like to see in the ITRC GSR/R guidance?

Answered: 49 Skipped: 3

ANSWER CHOICES	RESPONSES
Remedial technology/approach evaluation (such as a feasibility study)	75.51%	37
Remedial technology/approach optimization	75.51%	37
Remedial technology/approach implementation	69.39%	34
Risk management	67.35%	33
Long-term monitoring	51.02%	25
stakeholder engagement	53.06%	26
Other (please specify):	10.20%	5
Total Respondents:		49

Q13 Would a sustainable remediation guidance/framework that also addresses extreme weather events and wildfire impacts at contaminated sites be useful for your state?

Answered: 51 Skipped: 1

ANSWER CHOICES	RESPONSES
Yes	72.55%	37
No	5.88%	3
Unsure / Do Not Know	21.57%	11
TOTAL		51

Q14 Rate each case study topic based on its usefulness to support sustainable resilient remediation and redevelopment implementation in your state.

Answered: 48 Skipped: 4

Rating	Very Useful	Somewhat Useful	Not Useful	Total
technology/approach evaluation (such as a feasibility study)	54.35% 25	43.48% 20	2.17% 1	46
technology/approach optimization	53.19% 25	44.68% 21	2.13% 1	47
technology/approach implementation	58.70% 27	39.13% 18	2.17% 1	46
Return on investment, including cost of externalities (e.g. social cost of carbon, ecosystem services)	55.32% 26	36.17% 17	8.51% 4	47
Regulator collaboration and/or support	42.55% 20	53.19% 25	4.26% 2	47
Community engagement with the impacted public	56.52% 26	43.48% 20	0.00% 0	46
Stakeholder engagement to define sustainability metrics and tools	47.83% 22	50.00% 23	2.17% 1	46
Risk management	61.70% 29	36.17% 17	2.13% 1	47
Water conservation and reuse	45.65% 21	45.65% 21	8.70% 4	46
Materials use/management	31.91% 15	61.70% 29	6.38% 3	47
Circular economy	18.60% 8	58.14% 25	23.26% 10	43