Other Redevelopment Initiatives: Reducing Barriers to Redevelopment of Brownfields Sites

A Quick Look
EPA’s Land Revitalization Initiative was established to incorporate land reuse into the Agency’s cleanup programs.
The One Cleanup Program establishes activities to improve the pace, efficiency, and effectiveness of EPA’s cleanup programs through improved communication and coordination.
EPA is addressing redevelopment of Superfund sites through SRI.
The purpose of the RCRA Brownfields Prevention Initiative is to prevent creation of future brownfields and ensure successful cleanup and long-term, sustainable reuse of RCRA facilities.
Under the RCRA Brownfields Prevention TSE Initiative, selected sites will receive concentrated, short-term support to prevent them from becoming brownfields sites.
EPA’s OUST supports the cleanup and redevelopment of petroleum-contaminated sites.
Sharing of lessons learned can benefit the BRAC and Brownfields Programs.

In partnership with states, tribes, territories, and a broad range of stakeholders, EPA is undertaking the Land Revitalization Initiative to restore land to productive economic and green space uses. In April 2003, EPA announced an action agenda to serve as a blueprint for incorporating land reuse into its Superfund, RCRA, brownfields, and UST hazardous waste cleanup programs. Land Reuse Coordinators and Land Reuse Teams have been established in each of EPA’s 10 regional offices to ensure coordination among the cleanup programs in implementing the Land Revitalization Agenda. EPA has published the Directory of Technical Assistance for Land Revitalization (EPA542-B-03-001) to provide information about technical assistance that is available from EPA and other federal agency programs.

At the same time that EPA began its Land Revitalization Initiative, the Agency also announced the One Cleanup Program, a long-term initiative designed to support the ongoing planning and quality improvement efforts of EPA’s cleanup programs. The goal of the program is to improve the coordination, speed, and effectiveness of cleanups at RCRA and Superfund, brownfields, leaking UST, federal facility, and other contaminated sites. By encouraging improved coordination among EPA programs and with government at all levels, the One Cleanup Program supports the transfer of ideas, experiences, and innovations across all programs as well as effective coordination and communication with the public.

The Superfund Redevelopment Initiative (SRI) reflects EPA’s commitment to consider reasonably anticipated future land uses when making remedy decisions for Superfund sites so that these sites can be cleaned up to be protective for future users of the land. Because Superfund and brownfields sites are often co-located, there are many opportunities to share information, experiences, and lessons learned at the site level in addition to opportunities for transfer of ideas between programs at other levels. Spotlight 2 provides more detailed information about Superfund Redevelopment.

Under EPA’s RCRA Brownfields Prevention Initiative, pilot projects are designed to test approaches that better integrate reuse considerations into the corrective action cleanup process. The initiative also addresses concerns that application of RCRA to cleanup activities at brownfields sites may be slowing the progress of cleanup efforts. Although no grant money is associated with the pilot projects, EPA has engaged contractors to help find ways to expedite cleanup at the pilot sites.

The RCRA Brownfields Prevention Targeted Site Efforts (TSE) Initiative is intended to focus short-term attention and support on sites at which cleanup has been delayed or slowed and to serve as a catalyst to initiate cleanup at such sites in order to prevent them from becoming brownfields sites. Implemented at the regional level, the TSE program will apply to sites that have significant potential for redevelopment and reuse and that require a limited amount of EPA support to achieve the next level of cleanup, consensus, or site closure. EPA will offer a small amount of funding to support TSE efforts in each region.

EPA’s Office of Underground Storage Tanks (OUST), focuses on how to improve the cleanup of sites affected by petroleum contamination, thereby fostering the redevelopment of those sites (see Spotlight 4, Underground Storage Tanks at Brownfields Sites, for more information about the USTFields Initiative). Additional details about the initiative also are available online at www.epa.gov/oust/rags/ustfield.htm.

Many aspects of DoD’s Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Program and EPA’s Brownfields Program are similar. Significant issues common to both programs include eliminating disincentives and providing assurances to developers and financiers, considering future land use in cleanup decisions, and implementing institutional controls. Because federal facility and brownfields cleanups can have similar effects on communities, EPA and DoD are exploring methods of coordinating BRAC and brownfields activities. Visit BRAC for online access to relevant policies and initiatives, publications, and points of contact.

Sunday, September 7, 2008