Dewatering
Dewatering is the removal of water from solid material or soil by wet classification, centrifugation, filtration, or similar solid-liquid separation processes, such as removal of residual liquid from a filter cake by a filter press as part of various industrial processes.

Dirty Dirt
Dirty Dirt refers to untested or uncharacterized fill sourced from construction, demolition, or land clearing sites being illegally transported to another site as clean fill.Such “dirty dirt” may contain contaminated construction or demolition debris, including asbestos, asphalt, chemically treated wood, petroleum products, or chemical contaminants in quantities above regulatory limits.

EHS – Environment, Health, & Safety
Environment, health, and safety management is an all-in-one term that focuses on improving the EHS performance of a business. EHS management refers to the implementation of procedures focused on ensuring and improving the safety of workers and their surroundings. These processes play a significant role in achieving and maintaining the overall environmental goals of the organization. EHS Management (Environment, Health and Safety) is a crucial aspect of an enterprise’s operations. It not only helps minimize the impact on the environment and improve worker safety and well-being but also can improve employee retention, productivity, and enhance the brand image of the company spurring customer and corporate growth.

Environmental Justice
Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.

Flushing
For flushing, a solution of water, surfactants, or cosolvents is applied to soil or injected into the subsurface to treat contaminated soil or groundwater. When soil is treated, the injection is often designed to raise the water table into the contaminated soil zone. Injected water and treatment agents are recovered together with flushed contaminants.

Fluvial Studies
Fluvial geomorphology is the study of the interactions between the physical shapes of rivers, their water and sediment transport processes, and the landforms they create.

Hexavalent Chromium
Hexavalent chromium can irritate the nose, throat, and lungs. Repeated or prolonged exposure can damage the mucous membranes of the nasal passages and result in ulcers. In severe cases, exposure causes perforation of the septum (the wall separating the nasal passages).

Industrial Site Recovery Act (ISRA)
 is a fairly complex law that imposes certain preconditions on the sale, transfer, or closure of “industrial establishments” involved in the generation, manufacture, refining, transportation, treatment, storage, handling or disposal of hazardous substances or wastes.

This Act may not apply to your type of business and transaction. Therefore, the ISRA process begins with making this determination. The most important thing to note is that the provisions of ISRA only apply to industrial establishments which meet the following three criteria:

1. The place of business must have a North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code listed in N.J.A.C. 7:26 B – Appendix C subject to the specified exceptions and limitations.
2. The place of business must have been engaged in operations on or after December 31, 1983; and
3. The place of business must involve the generation, manufacture, refining, transportation, treatment, storage, handling, or disposal of hazardous substances or hazardous wastes.

ISRA requires owners or operators of an industrial establishment who are planning to close or transfer ownership or operations to notify the NJDEP prior to the transaction taking place. After the submission of the notice, the owner or operator of the industrial establishment is required to retain a New Jersey Licensed Site Remediation Professional (LSRP) to proceed in the remediation process.

Karst
Karst is an area of land made up of limestone. Limestone, also known as chalk or calcium carbonate, is a soft rock that dissolves in water. As rainwater seeps into the rock, it slowly erodes. Karst landscapes can be worn away from the top or dissolved from a weak point inside the rock.
Karst landscapes feature caves, underground streams and sinkholes on the surface. Where erosion has worn away the land above ground, steep rocky cliffs are visible

Life Cycle Assessment
The holistic analysis of potential environmental impacts of products or services from creation through end use. LCA is also useful to potentially identify supply chain choke points related to materials sourcing.

LSRP – Licensed Site Remediation Professional (New Jersey)
An LSRP is defined in C58:10C (Site Remediation Reform Act) as an individual who is licensed by the Site Remediation Professional Licensing Board (SRPLB) pursuant to C.58:10C-7. Simply stated, LSRPs are individuals with demonstrated educational requirements and experience remediating sites in New Jersey, who have passed a proficiency examination administered by the SRPLB and have been licensed by the SRPLB to oversee remediation in New Jersey.

LSRPs are bound by a strict code of conduct outlined within C.58:10C-16 and N.J.A.C. 7:26I-6 (Regulations of the New Jersey Site Remediation Professional Licensing Board) and are required to perform remediation in accordance with applicable New Jersey statute and regulation. The LSRP’s highest priority is the protection of public health and safety and the environment.

Mechanical Soil Aeration
Mechanical soil aeration involves agitation of contaminated soil using tilling or other means to volatilize contaminants.

Minor Source
Minor Sources are facilities with the potential to emit less than: 10 tons per year of any hazardous air pollutant. 25 tons per year of any combination of hazardous air pollutants. 100 tons per year of any regulated air pollutant (TSP/PM, SO2, VOC, CO, NOx, and Pb)

Monitoring Well
Groundwater monitoring wells are principally used for observing groundwater levels and flow conditions, obtaining samples for determining groundwater quality, and for evaluating hydraulic properties of water-bearing strata. Monitoring wells are sometimes referred to as “observation wells.”

Multi-Phase Extraction
Multi-phase extraction involves use of a vacuum system to remove various combinations of contaminated groundwater, separate-phase petroleum product, and vapors from the subsurface. The system typically lowers the water table around a well, exposing more of the formation. Contaminants in the newly exposed vadose zone are then accessible for vapor extraction. Once above ground, the extracted vapors or liquid-phase organics and groundwater are separated and treated.

Nanoremediation
Nanoremediation is a relatively new technology for environmental remediation. “Nanotechnology is the understanding and control of matter at dimensions between approximately 1 and 100 nanometers, where unique phenomena enable novel applications” (National Nanotechnology Initiative [NNI] 2008). Nanoparticles can be highly reactive because of their large surface area to volume ratio and the presence of a greater number of reactive sites. These features allows for increased contact with contaminants, thereby resulting in rapid reduction of contaminant concentrations.

PFAS
PFAS are man-made chemicals that have been used in industry and consumer products worldwide since the 1940s. They have been used to make nonstick cookware, water-repellent clothing, stain resistant fabrics and carpets, some cosmetics, some firefighting foams, and products that resist grease, water, and oil. 

During production and use, PFAS can migrate into the soil, water, and air. Most PFAS (including PFOA and PFOS) do not break down, so they remain in the environment. Because of their widespread use and their persistence in the environment, PFAS are found in the blood of people and animals all over the world and are present at low levels in a variety of food products and in the environment. Some PFAS can build up in people and animals with repeated exposure over time. 

Many scientific articles have been published about PFAS exposure and health effects. While it is difficult to show that substances directly cause health conditions in humans, scientific studies have shown that exposure to some PFAS in the environment may be linked to harmful health effects in humans and animals. More research is needed to better understand the health effects of PFAS exposure. 

Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA)
Performing a Phase 1 ESA is common practice in order to know whether a property is likely to contain any environmental issues, or “recognized environmental conditions.” Recognized environmental conditions include the presence, or likely presence, of hazardous materials or petroleum products due to a release or a probable future release. All Phase 1 environmental site assessments need to meet the standard practices set out in the ASTM E1527. They are best conducted before property transfers legal ownership or know before you buy.

Physical Separation
Physical separation processes use physical properties to separate contaminated and uncontaminated media or to separate different types of media. For example, different-sized sieves and screens can be used to separate contaminated soil from relatively uncontaminated debris. Another application of physical separation is dewatering sediments or sludge.

Phytoremediation
Phytoremediation is a process in which plants are used to remove, transfer, stabilize, or destroy contaminants in soil, sediment, or groundwater. The mechanisms of phytoremediation include enhanced rhizosphere biodegradation (which takes place in soil or groundwater immediately around plant roots), phytoextraction (also known as phytoaccumulation, the uptake of contaminants by plant roots and the translocation and accumulation of contaminants into plant shoots and leaves), phytodegradation (metabolism of contaminants within plant tissues), and phytostabilization (production of chemical compounds by plants to immobilize contaminants at the interface of roots and soil). Phytoremediation applies to all biological, chemical, and physical processes that are influenced by plants (including the rhizosphere) and that aid in the cleanup of contaminated substances. Phytoremediation may be applied in situ or ex situ to soils, sludges, sediments, other solids, or groundwater.

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a class of chemicals that occur naturally in coal, crude oil, and gasoline. They also are produced when coal, oil, gas, wood, garbage, and tobacco are burned. PAHs generated from these sources can bind to or form small particles in the air. High-temperature cooking will form PAHs in meat and in other foods. Naphthalene is a PAH that is produced commercially in the United States to make other chemicals and mothballs. Cigarette smoke contains many PAHs.

People are usually exposed to mixtures of PAHs. Breathing air contaminated with motor vehicle exhaust, cigarette smoke, wood smoke, or fumes from asphalt roads are common ways exposure occurs. People take in PAHs when they eat grilled or charred meats or foods or foods on which PAH particles have settled from the air. After PAHs are swallowed, breathed in, or in some cases, passed through the skin, the body converts PAHs into breakdown products called metabolites that pass out of the body in the urine and feces.

Pump and Treat
Pump and treat involves extraction of groundwater from an aquifer and treatment of the water above the ground. The extraction step is usually conducted by pumping groundwater from a well or trench. The treatment step can involve a variety of technologies such as adsorption, air stripping, bioremediation, chemical treatment, filtration, ion exchange, metal precipitation, and membrane filtration.

Remedial Action Workplan (RAW)
When pollution exists on a property, at levels requiring cleanup, it is important to design the most appropriate course of action to carry out the environmental remediation process.
A Remedial Action Plan, or Remediation Plan is a guideline that proposes a series of engineering and geological procedures, in order to feasibly perform contamination cleanup actions over a strategic period of time.
The actions of the proposal are part of an intrinsic plan that will satisfy the requirements of agency regulators, achieve property owner goals, and ensure worker safety.

Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA)
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) gives EPA the authority to control hazardous waste from cradle to grave. This includes the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste. RCRA also set forth a framework for the management of non-hazardous solid wastes. The 1986 amendments to RCRA enabled EPA to address environmental problems that could result from underground tanks storing petroleum and other hazardous substances.

Soil Vapor Extraction
Soil vapor extraction (SVE) is used to remediate unsaturated (vadose) zone soil. A vacuum is applied to the soil in order to induce a controlled flow of air and remove volatile and some semivolatile organic contaminants from the soil. SVE usually is performed in situ; however, in some cases, it can be used as an ex situ technology.

SPCC
The purpose of the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule is to help facilities prevent a discharge of oil into navigable waters or adjoining shorelines. The SPCC rule requires facilities to develop, maintain, and implement an oil spill prevention plan, called an SPCC Plan.

Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) 
The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) is a resource for learning about toxic chemical releases and pollution prevention activities reported by industrial and federal facilities. TRI data support informed decision-making by communities, government agencies, companies, and others. Section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) created the TRI.

Thermal Treatment (in situ)
In situ thermal treatment is a treatment process that uses heat to facilitate contaminant extraction through volatilization and other mechanisms or to destroy contaminants in situ. Volatilized contaminants are typically removed from the vadose zone using SVE. Specific types of in situ thermal treatment include conductive heating, electrical resistive heating (ERH), radio frequency heating (RFH), hot air injection, hot water injection, and steam enhanced extraction. In situ thermal treatment is usually applied to a contaminated source area but may also be applied to a groundwater plume.

UST 
Underground Storage Tank

Vitrification 
Vitrification involves use of an electric current to melt contaminated soil at elevated temperatures (1,600 to 2,000°C or 2,900 to 3,650°F). When it cools, the vitrification product is a chemically stable, leach-resistant glass and crystalline material similar to obsidian or basalt rock. The high-temperature component of the process destroys or removes organic materials. Radionuclides and heavy metals are retained within the vitrified product. Vitrification may be conducted in situ or ex situ.

Waste Characterization
Assessment of the waste based on all available information, including sampling results, to document that the waste meets regulatory requirements and any additional requirements of waste receivers prior to off-site disposal.
(USEPA 2018a)

Wetlands
Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season. Water saturation (hydrology) largely determines how the soil develops and the types of plant and animal communities living in and on the soil. Wetlands may support both aquatic and terrestrial species.

Wetland Delineation
Wetland delineation is the fieldwork that determines the boundary between uplands and wetlands on a property. This on-site work follows guidelines established by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and is required for permitting purposes.
A wetland delineation report includes the delineation methods, findings, photographs, results, soils, hydrology and vegetation data, climate conditions during the survey, and other relevant information that supports the delineator’s decision on where the water body/ upland boundary is. This report is often required for used for environmental permitting purposes.

White Hydrogen
Natural hydrogen (known as white hydrogen or gold hydrogen), is naturally occurring molecular hydrogen on or in Earth (as opposed to hydrogen produced in the laboratory or in industry). The name white hydrogen distinguishes it from green hydrogen, which is produced from renewable energy sources from the electrolysis of water, and from grey, brown or black hydrogen, which is obtained from fossil sources. Natural hydrogen may be renewable, non-polluting and allows for lower cost operation compared to industrial hydrogen. Natural hydrogen has been identified in many source rocks in areas beyond the sedimentary basins where oil companies typically operate.