The article below is excerpted from SERDP and ESTCP’s Partners in Environmental Technology Information Bulletin, Summer 2010 Issue. 

SERDP and ESTCP are modifying their management structure to align with changes in the Department of Defense’s (DoD) environmental technology requirements. The impetus for these changes is reflected in testimony to the House Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Readiness by Dr. Dorothy Robyn, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Installations and Environment), who stated, “The recently released 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) makes clear that crafting a strategic approach to energy and climate change is a high priority for the Department of Defense.” SERDP is responding by investing in efforts to develop climate change assessment tools, while ESTCP is leading DoD’s effort to accelerate the transition of innovative energy technologies from laboratories to military end users.

To manage investments in these areas more effectively, SERDP and ESTCP are creating two new program areas: Energy and Water and Resource Conservation and Climate Change. Starting in August 2010, SERDP and ESTCP projects will be managed under the following five program areas:

• Energy and Water (EW). Technologies to improve energy efficiency, increase the use of renewable energy, and enhance water conservation on DoD installations.
• Environmental Restoration (ER). Research and technologies for the characterization, risk assessment, remediation, and management of contaminants in soil, sediments, and water.
• Munitions Response (MR), formerly Munitions Management. Technologies for the detection, classification, and remediation of military munitions on U.S. lands and waters.
• Resource Conservation and Climate Change (RC). Research that advances DoD’s management of its natural and cultural resources and improves understanding of climate change impacts.
• Weapons Systems and Platforms (WP). Research and technologies to reduce, control, and understand the sources of waste and emissions in the manufacture, maintenance, and use of weapons systems and platforms.

Most facility infrastructure and natural resource projects that were managed under the Sustainable Infrastructure (SI) focus area have been transferred to either the EW or RC program areas, respectively. SERDP and ESTCP Principal Investigators are being notified as to which program areas under the new structure their projects will be managed. These changes will also be reflected in the SERDP and ESTCP Management System (SEMS).