ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines and connects the concepts necessary for developing environmental strategies that accelerate cleanup and streamline decision making, as well as to summarize cost-saving measures, approaches, and initiatives that can be used to efficiently investigate, cleanup, and close sites. It introduces the fundamental concepts of external strategic planning that is focused on accelerating cleanup, streamlining decision making, and reducing costs. Technology-based cost-reduction approaches are the most common mechanisms applied to reduce costs. There are many technological approaches available that reduce costs and a number of different approaches that can be used together that have a significant impact on lowering costs. In addition, effective strategic planning emphasizes win—win strategies that not only meet the goals and objectives of one entity, such as a responsible party or regulatory agency, but also meet the goals and objectives of the entire project team.
