FY 2023 STATEMENT OF NEED

 Environmental Restoration (ER) Program Area

The objective of this Statement on Need (SON) was to improve management of impacted stormwater emanating from DoD facilities adjacent to waterways. The primary concern was the management of PFAS-impacted runoff or infiltration to groundwater from historic AFFF use. Specifically, the goal was to address the following research needs:

• Develop cost-effective active treatment technologies to treat chemicals of concern (COCs) in stormwater that will effectively handle varying flows and complex stormwater mixtures of varying dissolved organic carbon (DOC) content.
• Develop passive treatment technologies that will remove COCs from stormwater and can accommodate variable flows.
• Develop innovative stormwater control and treatment technologies that improve stormwater management through prevention of sediment recontamination and addition to the existing water supply.
• Methods for assessing and determining background PFAS concentrations in discharge waters at DoD facilities. 

The projects listed below were selected to address the objectives of this SON. Additional information on individual projects can be found by clicking the project title.

• Tailored Carbonaceous Materials as Biofilter Amendments for PFAS Removal in Stormwater Runoff
  • Lead Investigator:  Wenqing Xu, Villanova University
• Development of a Screening-Level Tool to Estimate PFAS Retention Lifetimes for Engineered Sorbents in Passive Stormwater Filtration Systems
  • Lead Investigator:  Bridget Ulrich, University of Minnesota
• Understanding the Spatial/Temporal Nature of AFFF PFAS Loadings in Stormwater to Develop Targeted Stormwater Treatment Technologies
  • Lead Investigator:  Charles Newell, GSI Environmental Inc.    
• Passive-Active Modular Stormwater Biofilter Designs to Enhance PFAS Removal in Variable Flow Conditions
  • Lead Investigator: Sanjay Mohanty, University of California Los Angeles    

Research should lead to improved management of PFAS in stormwater and discharge to fresh or saltwater bodies. In addition, the resulting tools and understanding should improve the ability to implement effective remedial strategies at DoD sites.