Technical Surveillance

TSS graphicMission - The Environmental Restoration Technical Support Branch provides technical expertise in surveillance for the Air Force Environmental Directorate performance-based remediation contracts. The branch focuses scientific and engineering expertise on contaminated sites with high complexity, cost and risk, while providing technical guidance across the Air Force for remediation strategies, program planning, and contract solicitation and execution.

Overview - The Restoration Technical Support Branch technical surveillance activities address a broad range of technical and scientific matters affecting environmental restoration. Activities are designed to assure restoration decisions and strategies are consistent across the enterprise and based on sound scientific and engineering principles. The branch evaluates response actions throughout the remedy lifecycle including ability to reduce or eliminate long-term Air Force environmental liabilities. A summary of surveillance activities and additional descriptions of these activities are highlighted below.

Surveillance Activities

Surveillance Activities
Surveillance activities support performance-based remediation, or PBR, contract acquisitions by developing technical rationales for performance objectives, assessing baseline performance of current exit strategies, and evaluating technical proposals submitted by contractors. Surveillance during PBR contract execution evaluates technical quality of contractor work through technical review of work plans and reports, and performance evaluations of chemical laboratories.

Assessments of PBR contractor performance in meeting remediation objectives is provided through review of work plans, data interpretation and performance monitoring of optimized exit strategies, as well as independent verification and validation activities called Critical Process Analyses and Complex Site Initiatives.

Lab Performance Evaluation

Labratory Performance Evaluation
Acquisition policy for government quality assurance of performance-based remediation, or PBR, contracts requires surveillance of environmental testing and analysis services. The branch performance evaluation activities provide external assessments of Labratory Performance Evaluationlaboratory quality control and capabilities by including blind proficiency testing samples with field samples, and analyzing split samples at independent reference laboratories.

Selection criteria for performance evaluation, or PE, activities are determined by the Air Force PBR management team during PBR surveillance planning. Criteria include site selection based on priority, cost, risk and schedule; selection of key matrix type and analytics; and use of an individual laboratory across the entire PBR contract portfolio. Additional description of the PE activity is provided on the branch Chemistry specialty area webpage.

Technical Document Review

Technical Document Review
Document review evaluates compliance with four fundamental goals for acceptable quality: compliance with contract requirements and Air Force policy; regulatory approval or concurrence; demonstration of progress toward performance objectives; and assurance activities do not adversely affect site conditions or life-cycle costs. The branch provides detailed technical reviews of documents at high complexity, cost and risk sites, while providing technical review guidance for all Air Force sites. As an aid to technical reviewers, the branch developed reviewer checklists for specific technical restoration topics, reports and work plans.

Critical Process Analysis

A Critical Process Analysis, or CPA, event provides performance-based remediation, or PBR, surveillance of remedial performance at high complexity, cost and risk, or CCR, sites. The comprehensive independent assessments are used to evaluate site-specific environmental remediation systems to address operation and effectiveness.

Critical Process Analysis A CPA brings environmental remediation experts together to assess raw data and determine if:
-- Reported conclusions are accurate;
-- The remedial system is operating as intended; and
-- The remedial system is likely to meet the PBR objectives for the specific CCR site.

The CPA assessments exceed the level of surveillance possible during a routine technical report review and are timed to identify remedy performance problems as early as feasible and to allow time for a contractor to implement corrective action.

Reoccurring findings/conclusions associated with remedial activities not meeting PBR objectives often become Broad Agency Announcement statements of need.

Optimized Exit Strategies

Optimized Exit Strategies
An Optimized Exit Strategy, or OES, is a technical strategy for achieving site cleanup goals that maximizes remedy effectiveness and efficiency while minimizing life-cycle costs and long-term liability.

An OES identifies a series of actions, some of which may extend beyond a performance-based remediation, or PBR, contract, and includes a performance model describing how remediation is expected to progress.

Optimized Exit StrategyThe branch provides expertise in OES development and performance monitoring during both PBR contract acquisition and execution.

During contract scoping, experts assess baseline performance of current exit strategies for high complexity, cost and risk, or CCR, sites, and provide technical rationale for minimum performance objectives.

At high CCR sites, technical rationale often is based on remedial strategies, performance models and performance monitoring designs developed through Complex Site Initiative, or CSI, activities.

Optimized Exit StrategiesDuring PBR contract execution, OES performance is assessed by technical review of contract deliverables, as well as surveillance activities such as Critical Process Analyses and CSIs.

Programs

Remediation Tools

Site Cleanup Software

Green Remediation Focus

Screening Matrix

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