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Superfund Redevelopment Initiative

Office of Superfund Remediation

and Technology Innovation

Returning Some of the Nation’s 

Worst Hazardous Waste Sites to 

Safe and Productive Uses
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation

Superfund Redevelopment Initiative

www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/recycle 
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The Superfund 

Redevelopment Initiative

The Superfund Redevelopment Initiative (SRI) helps communities reclaim cleaned Superfund sites and 

remove barriers that have kept many of them vacant and underutilized for decades.

SRI supports the reuse of sites without compromising 

cleanup standards. 

The consideration of future land use is an integral part of the 

Superfund process – from remedy selection to the long-term 

monitoring and stewardship of sites after cleanup. The Superfund 

Redevelopment Initiative upholds this critical activity.

The reuse potential of Superfund sites after cleanup is far-reaching. 

Today, sites are being reused for virtually every type of land use, 

from residential, commercial and industrial land uses to parks, farm 

land, and public facilities. 

Recycled sites provide economic, environmental, and social benefits. Each one of these sites can become the 

catalyst that revitalizes an economically depressed area and helps to strengthen a community. 

SRI believes that almost all sites can be reused and become valuable assets for their communities.
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Reclaiming 

Opportunity 

The Superfund Program

Superfund is the federal program to clean up the nation’s abandoned hazardous 

waste sites. The program was created by law in 1980 in the wake of the 

discovery of toxic waste dumps such as Love Canal and Times Beach. It allows 

EPA to clean up sites and to compel those responsible for contamination to 

perform cleanups or reimburse the government for cleanups. Since Superfund’s 

creation, remedies have been completed at 1,060 sites, and work is underway at 

an additional 423 sites. EPA has also identified and assessed thousands of sites. 

The Superfund Redevelopment Initiative (Sri)

In the 1990s, EPA began to notice that, although a few cleaned-up Superfund 

sites were being put back to use, many sites were left idle and abandoned. SRI 

was created in 1999 to support reuse without compromising cleanup standards. 

EPA’s mission remains the protection of human health and the environment, and 

Superfund site redevelopment complements that commitment.

What is reuse?

Reuse refers to the productive use of a site after cleanup. Over the past ten 

years, EPA has identified several types of reuse options. Communities have 

reused sites for industrial and commercial uses, such as factories and shopping 

malls. Sites have been used for housing and public works facilities, such as 

transit stations. Many communities have created new recreational amenities, 

like ball fields, parks and golf courses. Sites have also been reused to support 

ecological resources, including wildlife preserves and wetlands, as well as 

agricultural land. Superfund reuse exemplifies smart growth principles by 

protecting natural resources and preserving greenfields. SRI has tracked over 

500 sites that are in actual, continued, or planned reuse. 
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Advancing Solutions

From the beginning, SRI has focused on two approaches that EPA can use to support Superfund site reuse. The first approach is 

to work with site stakeholders to explore future uses before cleanups are underway. This approach gives EPA the best chance to 

design cleanup remedies that are compatible with an intended use. The second approach is to work with communities to remove 

unnecessary barriers to reuse at sites where remedies are already in place.

Since SRI’s inception, the Initiative has developed an array of tools and services to help communities reuse their sites. 

• Reuse Pilots: In 1999, SRI provided ten pilot grants to local governments to support reuse planning efforts. The grant 

program eventually included 70 communities that received pilot funding or technical assistance. 

• The Return to Use (RTU) Initiative: SRI developed this effort in late 2004 to remove barriers to reuse. As part of this 

effort, SRI established site-specific partnerships, called demonstration projects. These partnerships involve community 

groups, government officials, site owners, and the parties responsible for cleaning up the sites. 

• Regional Seeds: SRI provides funds to assess sites’ redevelopment potential, which can include providing facilitation 

services as needed and assessing a site’s capability to support alternative energy reuses. This initial funding can lead to 

reuse plans that guide a site’s redevelopment. SRI also looks for partnership opportunities with groups, organizations and 

businesses that could help communities secure redevelopment funding.

• Ready for Reuse (RfR) Determinations and Comfort Letters: An RfR is an environmental status report that provides essential information about how a site can be used without compromising the protectiveness of its remedy for people and the 

environment. Comfort letters provide information about sites and help clarify liability issues for prospective purchasers 

and site owners.

• SRI Coordinators: Each EPA Region has a representative who works with EPA staff and site stakeholders on redevelopment issues.

• The Reuse Help Desk: The Reuse Help Desk is a reuse resource for regional staff and communities impacted by Superfund 

sites. 

• The SRI Web Site: SRI’s Website provides one-stop access to a lot of information, references, and resources, including 

case studies, videos, and lessons learned, to help communities pursue Superfund reuse opportunities. 

Each site is unique and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to make reuse happen. Since 1999, SRI has spent a great deal of time 

helping communities overcome unnecessary reuse barriers one-by-one. The following pages celebrate SRI’s partnership with 

communities around the country to help make Superfund site reuse a reality. 
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From the 1960s until 1980, 

a 12-acre area of the Auburn 

Road Landfill site, located in 

Londonderry, New Hampshire, 

was used for the disposal 

of chemical wastes, tires, 

demolition debris and solid 

waste. Remedy construction, 

including capping of wastes, 

ground water treatment and 

connecting area to municipal 

water supply, was completed 

in 1998 and monitored natural 

attenuation of ground water is 

ongoing. The New Hampshire 

Flying Tigers, an Academy of 

Model Aeronautics (AMA) 

club, opened the Auburn 

Road Flying Field at the site 

in August 2008. This was the 

first flying field at a Superfund 

site in New England and was 

established through the AMA/

EPA partnership.

Before

After

Region 1

Auburn Road, Londonderry, New Hampshire
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The Welsbach & General Gas 

Mantle Contamination site is a 

multi-property site located in an 

industrial and residential area of 

Camden and Gloucester City, New 

Jersey. Between the 1890s and 

1940s, two companies produced 

gas mantles in the area resulting in 

radiological contamination at the 

two facilities and approximately 

100 area properties. Cleanup efforts 

began in 2000. In April 2008, two 

local not- for-profit organizations 

purchased a cleaned up portion of 

the site and constructed the 96-seat 

Waterfront South Theatre. The 

South Camden Theatre Company 

opened their first season in the 

theatre in September 2010. The 

facility is also used for area school, 

theater, music and arts programs. 

Cleanup efforts on remaining 

portions of the site continue and 

have been accelerated with the help 

of $28 million in 2009 American 

Reinvestment and Recovery Act 

funds.

After

Region 2

Welsbach & General Gas Mantle, 

Camden and Gloucester City, New Jersey

Before
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The Lower Darby Creek Area 

Superfund site, located in 

Philadelphia and Delaware 

Counties, includes two 

landfills, one located in the 

John Heinz National Wildlife 

Refuge and the other located 

adjacent to an environmental 

justice neighborhood. 

Stakeholders include multiple 

local government agencies, 

community members and the 

site owners; each offering 

a range of reuse goals and 

considerations. SRI funded 

a reuse assessment to clarify 

stakeholder goals, document 

potential site constraints, and 

inform the remedial process. A 

stakeholder working session in 

November 2010 clarified that 

there is significant interest in 

reuse at both landfills and several 

potential reuse options. During 

the working session, participants 

agreed that the formation of an 

advisory group would provide a 

forum to coordinate the remedial 

process and potential reuse of the 

site, including the possibility of a 

regional greenway corridor. 

Before

After

Region 3

Lower Darby Creek Area, 

Lower Darby Township, Pennsylvania
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A foundry operated on the twoacre Abex Corporation Superfund 

site in Portsmouth, Virginia for 

50 years, leaving behind leadcontaminated soil, sediment and 

surface water. An agreement 

was reached among EPA, Abex 

Corporation, the Commonwealth 

of Virginia, the City of Portsmouth 

and the Portsmouth Redevelopment 

and Housing Authority to design 

and conduct the cleanup of the site 

and to identify beneficial reuse 

activities. As part of the cleanup, 20 

homeowners sold their properties to 

the City of Portsmouth, which has 

been redeveloping the site to bring 

additional services to the Southside 

Portsmouth area in support of 

revitalization activities. The site 

currently hosts a park, a beverage 

distribution center and a shopping 

center in addition to three public 

service facilities: Fire Station 1, the 

Charles A. Fisher Memorial Police 

Training Academy and the notfor-profit Portsmouth Community 

Health Center.

After

Region 3

Abex Corporation, Portsmouth, Virginia

Before
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The 26-acre Former Spellman 

Engineering Site is located in 

Lake Highland, an area that is 

considered the northern gateway 

to downtown Orlando. The Site 

is one of the most important 

pieces of undeveloped land in the 

vicinity of the Central Business 

District. Prior to the discovery 

of contamination, some of the 

impacted land was acquired by 

the Orlando Utilities Commission 

and a portion was leased by Lake 

Highland Preparatory School 

(LHPS) for athletic field space. 

The City did not want the Site to 

be added to the National Priorities 

List. EPA issued its first ever 

Contiguous Property Owner 

Agreement, in which the City of 

Orlando agreed to implement the 

estimated $12.9 million remedy, 

which it is currently implementing. 

As part of the arrangement, LHPS 

simultaneously purchased some 

of the Site and signed a Bona Fide 

Prospective Purchaser Agreement 

with EPA. In exchange for a 

covenant not to sue from EPA, 

LHPS provided funds which 

helped the City finance the cleanup. 

LHPS has redeveloped the area it 

purchased to expand its sports and 

other school facilities.

Before

After

Region 4

Former Spellman Engineering, Orlando, Florida
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The century-old Quincy Smelter 

is a National Historic Landmark 

and the only copper smelter 

still standing in the Great Lakes 

region. Local stakeholders 

agreed that the Smelter should 

be preserved and were interested 

in exploring commercial reuse 

possibilities for other portions 

of the site. While awaiting a 

cleanup remedy decision from 

EPA and Michigan Department 

of Environmental Quality, 

Region 5 SRI conducted a twophase reuse planning process, 

developing a working group 

of the partner agencies and 

conducting a two-day community 

workshop that resulted in a reuse 

framework and the formation 

of an executive steering 

committee to guide cleanup and 

redevelopment of the site. The 

National Park Service has agreed 

to relocate the Isle Royale Visitor 

Center and Ranger III dock to the 

site pending a viable financing 

strategy. The Steering Committee 

is now in the process of drafting 

a request for qualifications for a 

development financing feasibility 

study for the site.

After

Region 5

Quincy Smelter, Franklin, Michigan

Before
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The Many Diversified Interests, 

Inc. Superfund site occupies 

approximately 36 acres in 

Houston, Texas. The site is 

located in the City’s Fifth Ward, 

a historically African-American 

neighborhood that is undergoing 

rapid transformation due to 

Houston’s economic growth. 

Despite the site’s excellent 

redevelopment potential, 

developers had concerns 

regarding how a non-liable 

party could acquire, clean up 

and redevelop the site. With 

innovative tools such as an 

“Agreed Order on Consent 

and Covenant Not to Sue” 

and the first ever Bona Fide 

Prospective Purchaser agreement 

in the country, the property 

was acquired by developer 

Clinton Gregg Investments, L.P. 

Construction of the site’s remedy 

is now complete and a partial 

deletion of a remediated portion 

of the site was finalized in August 

2010. In late 2010, EPA presented 

the developer with a Certificate of 

Completion for the soil remedy 

at Operable Unit 1. EPA and the 

developer hope to host a ground 

breaking for the new mixed use 

development in the near future.

Before

After

Region 6

Many Diversified Interests, Inc., Houston, Texas
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Over one hundred years of mining 

left much of the approximately 

115 square-mile Cherokee 

County Superfund site covered 

with barren rock and gravel 

and a legacy of contamination. 

With more that 50% of the site 

remediated, stakeholders began to 

explore sustainable reuse options 

for the site through a reuse 

assessment and an alternative 

energy suitability study. The 

results of these studies indicated 

that activities such as haying, 

grazing and wildlife habitat are 

compatible with the site’s remedy 

and have the potential to bring 

financial returns from otherwise 

unused lands. The alternative 

energy suitability study found that 

the site was best suited for utility 

scale biomass production and 

also noted that, in the long-term, 

restored site lands could play a 

role in carbon sequestration and 

conservation programs.

After

Region 7

Cherokee County, Galena, Kansas

Before
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For decades, the Clark Fork 

River was a dumping ground for 

mining wastes, which traveled 

downstream nearly 130 miles 

until their progress was blocked 

at the Milltown Dam. Barred 

from moving downstream, the 

tailings piled up until nearly six 

million cubic yards of waste 

collected at the base of the dam. 

As part of site cleanup activities, 

contaminated sediments and 

wastes were removed, the dam 

was removed and river flow has 

been restored. Starting with a 

Superfund Redevelopment Pilot 

in 2002, EPA and state and local 

stakeholders began the planning 

process to develop a vision for 

the future of the site. The project 

aims to restore the high quality 

of water from the Milltown 

Aquifer, allow unrestricted fish 

passage, improve native and 

recreational fisheries, provide 

high quality habitat for fish and 

wildlife and allow for expansion 

of functional wetland and riparian 

communities. The restored 

ecosystem will also provide 

safe recreational opportunities 

including river boating, fishing 

and trail access for hiking and 

bicycling. Milltown was included 

in SRI’s 2010 Return to Use 

Initiative.

Before

After

Region 8

Milltown Reservoir Sediments, Milltown, Montana
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The Aerojet General 

Corporation Superfund site 

covers 5,900 acres near 

Rancho Cordova, California. 

Since 1953, Aerojet and 

its subsidiaries have 

manufactured rocket engines 

and formulated a number of 

chemicals. Cleanup of soil and 

ground water contamination 

from former disposal practices 

is currently underway. In 

2008, Aerojet began planning 

to convert a portion of its 

facility into a solar farm to 

help power the site’s extensive 

ground water remediation 

program. Completed in 

2010, the 40-acre solar farm 

generates six megawatts of 

power, providing more than 

20 percent of the energy 

needed to power the site’s 

ground water remediation 

program. Aerojet collaborated 

with Solar Power Inc. on 

the installation, which is the 

largest single-site industrial 

project of its kind in 

California.

After

Region 9

Aerojet General Corporation, 

Rancho Cordova, California

Before
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The Reynolds Metals site in 

Troutdale, Oregon is the former 

location of the Reynolds/

Alcoa aluminum smelter and 

subsequent Superfund site 

cleanup. The Port of Portland 

bought the 700-acre property 

after cleanup was complete and 

plans to redevelop the site into 

an industrial park. The Port 

sold the first 78-acre parcel to 

FedEx Ground, which has built 

a 425,000 square-foot regional 

distribution center on the land. 

The new center began smallscale operations in August 2010 

and phased up activities until the 

grand opening on October 28, 

2010. The nearly $130 million 

dollar facility is anticipated to 

employ between 700 and 1000 

employees when at full operating 

capacity, bringing new jobs 

and potenitally new residents 

with approximately 450 current 

FedEx Corporation employees 

being transferred to the area. 

The Port plans to develop about 

another 280 acres for industrial 

use and the rest of the land will 

be set aside for infrastructure, 

open space, wetlands and a 

recreational trail. 

Before

After

Region 10

Reynolds Metals, Troutdale, Oregon
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The Future of Reuse

Superfund site reuse has delivered benefits at these sites and other sites across the country. Depending on the specific 

circumstances, site reuse can provide economic, environmental and/or social benefits. Considering the benefits provided at 

the more than 300 sites that have been returned to productive use, SRI estimates that these reuses have contributed more than 

30,000 jobs and generated more than $1.3 billion in annual income in their communities.

SRI also found that reuse leads to better protection of human health. The presence of people and activities makes a site less likely to be a target 

for vandalism or illegal dumping. In addition, government officials immediately know if an unexpected remedy repair may be needed.

Looking at the big picture of overall land development in a region, site reuse promotes infill development and minimizes sprawl. 

For sites that support a commercial enterprise or a public facility, there are associated jobs and 

income, greater spending at area businesses, increased public revenue, and increased property 

values at and around the sites. In addition, sites may provide greater recreational opportunities 

or restore valuable wetlands or refuges for wildlife.

In addition to the tools already provided by SRI, the Initiative will also be engaging in new 

activities to extend its reach and effectiveness.

Dream Teams

SRI creates teams who bring expertise in Superfund, land use, real estate and community 

involvement to support community-based reuse planning efforts. The RTU Initiative will also 

continue to help communities reuse hundreds of sites that have been cleaned up.

Clean to Green

SRI promotes the use of alternative energy – solar, wind and geothermal – at cleaned up sites, and discussions for these uses are already under 

way for several sites. Case studies, fact sheets and training on alternative energy reuse are available on SRI’s website: 

www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/recycle.

Outreach

SRI provides outreach material to interested parties, helping to create an informed community of stakeholders who understand the opportunities 

and benefits provided by Superfund site reuse, and who will work with SRI to continue to return sites to productive use. 

Measuring Performance

Each year, SRI measures performance by tracking the number of acres of land at Superfund sites that are ready for reuse as well as measuring 

the number of Superfund sites with land that is ready for reuse. 
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Superfund site reuse takes time, and SRI intends to support communities who want to 

reclaim these critical assets. SRI would like to acknowledge the support of those people and 

organizations whose dedicated efforts make this work possible. They include: SRI’s Superfund 

Redevelopment Initiative Coordinators in each of the EPA 10 Regions, and EPA Remedial 

Project Managers, Regional and headquarters Council, state and local government officials, 

State environmental cleanup teams, groups and organizations who have partnered with EPA, 

developers, and community members whose willingness to go above and beyond has resulted 

in the innovation and action that make Superfund redevelopment possible. 
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For more information, please contact:

Melissa Friedland

Superfund Program Manager for Redevelopment

703.603.8864

USEPA Ariel Rios Building 

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Mail code: 5204G

Washington, DC 20460

Frank Avvisato

Superfund Redevelopment Project Officer

703.603.8949

USEPA Ariel Rios Building 

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Mail code: 5204G

Washington, DC 20460

Superfund Redevelopment Reuse Help Desk

434.817.0470
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation

Superfund Redevelopment Initiative

www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/recycle