Brownfields
Issue Summary
U.S. EPA
Other Federal Agencies
States
Organizations/Non-Government Programs
Issue
Summary
The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) administers the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), or Superfund
program, through its Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response
(OSWER) in cooperation with individual states and tribal governments.
The Superfund program seeks to locate, investigate, and clean up the
worst hazardous waste sites throughout the United States. In some
cases, local governments may be held liable for contamination at a
site based on their role as a past or current owner or operator of a
contaminated site (e.g., a municipal landfill), or as a generator or
transporter of hazardous substances sent to a site. However, in
recent years, EPA has developed certain policies that address or
limit some aspects of a municipality's CERCLA liability. Local
governments may also be reimbursed for responses to emergencies
involving hazardous substances and oil.
In addition, EPA has
recently been focusing not only on the cleanup of Superfund sites,
but also on how local governments can reuse less-contaminated sites,
or brownfields. Brownfields are industrial and commercial sites that
are abandoned or underused because of real or perceived
contamination. Communities across the country face the challenge of
putting these idle sites back to use, from old industrial cities with
thousands of acres of abandoned factories to rural villages built
around mines or timber mills. Brownfields are a valuable community
resource whose redevelopment can bring important benefits to
economically depressed communities. The resources below provide
essential information on Superfund and brownfields that can assist in
the cleanup and reuse of contaminated and/or abandoned sites.
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U.S. EPA
Brownfields Technical Assistance, Training and Research. Portal with links to information for communities seeking assistance with managing their brownfield sites and technical assistance tools including a roadmap for site investigation and clean-up, a revitalization technology support center and hazardous waste clean-up guidance.
EPA
OSRE - Brownfields and Land Revitalization Website.
EPA's Office of Site Remediation Enforcement (OSRE) offers resources
on brownfields and land revitalization, covering a broad range of
topics from liability concerns and protections to EPA's ER3
initiative.
Superfund.
EPA's Superfund homepage contains information on Superfund technical
resources, programs, frequently asked questions, and more. Visit
this site
Waste Analysis at Facilities That Generate, Treat, Store, and Dispose of Hazardous Wastes: A Guidance Manual. Also known as the Waste Analysis Plan (WAP) Guidance, this document updates the 1994 version and is used to provide guidance on how to develop and implement WAPs suitable for managing hazardous wastes in accordance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), assist federal and state permit writers in evaluating submitted WAPs, and assist enforcement personnel in determining whether a facility is in compliance with their testing requirements.
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Other Federal
Agencies/Programs
Brownfields Technology Support Center. This Web site provides the expertise and information necessary to help brownfields decision-makers determine whether innovative options are available and feasible for their sites.
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States/Local
Governments
City
of Portland, Oregon. Brownfields Online is
the Web site for the Oregon Brownfields Initiative of the City of
Portland.
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Organizations/Non-Government
Programs
International
City/County Management Association (ICMA). ICMA's
Research and Development Department has undertaken a number of
brownfields research projects to assist local government managers
with issues related to brownfields.
The
Brownfields Center. The Brownfields Center, a
cooperative effort of the Univerity of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon
University, seeks to improve the brownfields revitalization process
by enabling scholars of engineering, the social sciences, economics
and the arts to develop a comprehensive, multi-level understanding of
the challenges facing community leaders as they seek to return
brownfields to productive use.
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