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RESTORINGLANDFOR!MERICASCOMMUNITIES

“EPA’s cleanup programs have set a 

national goal for returning formerly 

contaminated sites to long-term, 

sustainable, and productive uses.”

2003–2008 EPA Strategic Plan — Direction for the Future

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Superfund

The Superfund Program manages cleanups 

of the nation’s uncontrolled hazardous 

waste sites that pose a current or future 

threat to human health or the environment. 

EPA’s Superfund Redevelopment Program 

encourages communities at every cleanup 

site to consider anticipated future reuses 

early so that cleanups can accommodate 

those uses, while maintaining standards that 

protect human health and the environment.

Underground

Storage Tanks

The Underground Storage Tanks 

Program supports States, territories, 

and other partners in the cleanup and 

reuse of properties contaminated 

by petroleum releases from 

underground storage tanks and 

works to better integrate eligible 

petroleum brownfields into ongoing 

restoration/revitalization activities.

RCRA Corrective Action

The Resource Conservation and 

Recovery Act (RCRA) Corrective Action 

Program requires the investigation 

and cleanup of hazardous releases at 

operating facilities. RCRA Corrective 

Action differs from Superfund in that 

Corrective Action facilities generally 

have viable operators and on-going 

operations. 

Federal Facilities

The Federal Facilities Restoration 

and Reuse Program works with 

other Federal and state agencies to 

facilitate the cleanup and reuse of the 

nation’s Superfund Federal facilities, 

including Base Realignment and 

Closure (BRAC) sites. 

Why Land Revitalization?

As a nation, we value land as a natural, cultural, and economic resource. Over time, hundreds of 

thousands of properties and millions of acres across the country have been damaged by minor to 

moderate to extreme pollution and distressed, dilapidated conditions. For more than a decade, a 

movement has grown across the country to restore and reclaim these properties for community, 

economic, and ecologic uses. In many places, government, private, and non-profit organizations are 

working with each other to assess, restore and return these unproductive properties to sustainable and 

beneficial uses that are protective of health and the environment. Neighborhood parks, residential and 

commercial developments, manufacturing facilities, and restored natural environments exist around the 

country because of revitalization partnerships. Cleaning up and reinvesting in these properties also 

takes development pressures off of undeveloped, open land. The days of erecting chain link fences 

around a property and posting “Keep Out” signs around valuable land resources wane, and we believe 

the momentum around cleanup and sustainable land reuse will continue to grow. 

Land Revitalization Initiative 

As part of its mission to protect human health and 

the environment, EPA is undertaking an Agency-wide 

initiative to revitalize land. To restore contaminated 

properties to economic and environmental vitality, 

EPA’s land cleanup programs have set a national goal 

for returning formerly contaminated sites to long-term, 

sustainable, and productive uses. Working closely 

with States, Tribes, and local governments, we are 

building partnerships with communities, private, and 

non-government stakeholders to promote voluntary 

cleanups and revitalization, including urban river 

restoration that revitalizes land and water resources and 

“Good Samaritan” voluntary cleanups of abandoned 

mines and other sites. At cleanup sites that require 

the involvement of multiple government programs, we 

apply One Cleanup Program approaches to improve 

consistency, management, and cost-effectiveness. 

Working with others, our goal is to restore our nation’s 

contaminated land resources and enable communities 

to safely return these properties to beneficial and 

sustainable economic, ecological, and societal uses.

Brownfields Cleanup

and Redevelopment

EPA’s Brownfields Program empowers states, 

communities, and other stakeholders in 

economic redevelopment to work together to 

prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably 

reuse brownfields. The Brownfields Program 

provides technical and financial assistance, 

including grants for environmental assessment, 

cleanup, and job training.

www.epa.gov/brownfields/ www.epa.gov/fedfac/ www.epa.gov/swerust1/ www.epa.gov/swerosps/rcrabf/ www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/recycle/

{By encouraging cleanup and redevelopment of 

America’s abandoned and contaminated waste 

sites. . .we are taking problem properties and 

transforming them back into community assets. 

We are empowering people to work together to 

revitalize and rehabilitate their communities.|

Steve Johnson, EPA Administrator

August 14, 2006

Land Revitalizatio

n

BROWNFIELDS

RCRA

SUPERFUND

UNDERGROUND

STORAGE TANKS

FEDERAL

FACILITIES
Land Revitalization Staff

Office of Solid Waste and

Emergency Response

Mail Code 5101T

EPA-500-F-06-003

October 2006

EPA’s Land Revitalization Staff

The Land Revitalization Staff works with EPA programs, other government agencies, and non-government partners to promote and 

develop land revitalization measures, tools, and information. The land revitalization vision is to restore the nation’s contaminated 

land resources and enable communities to safely return these properties to beneficial economic, ecological, and societal uses. 

One Cleanup Program 

Approaches

The One Cleanup Program is 

EPA’s vision for how different 

cleanup programs at all levels of 

government can work together to 

ensure that resources, activities, 

and results are effectively 

coordinated, implemented, and 

communicated to the public. EPA 

cleanup programs coordinate with 

one another to remove unintended 

barriers, develop common 

measures, and improve the quality 

and availability of information 

so that contaminated land can 

be revitalized and returned to 

protective and beneficial uses. 

Measures and Benefits

The Land Revitalization Outcomes 

and Benefits Workgroup is 

developing measures to enable 

EPA to better understand and 

communicate land revitalization 

accomplishments and inform 

future decision-making, priorities, 

and roles. 

Training and Information

The Land Revitalization Staff offers 

training to EPA, State, Tribal and 

local governments on reuse of 

contaminated properties in private 

real estate markets and in natural 

ecological systems. 

Coordination

Facilitating the exchange of 

information and coordination of 

action across cleanup programs 

can lead to faster, more efficient 

cleanups that are protective 

of future uses of previously 

contaminated sites. The Land 

Revitalization Staff, Coordinators, 

and partners are working together 

to better integrate program 

implementation.

Unintended Barriers

EPA is addressing unintended 

barriers to the appropriate reuse of 

land. The Long Term Stewardship 

Task Force has developed 

recommendations to ensure that 

site cleanups remain protective 

over time and the Agency is 

working to improve program 

activities related to groundwater 

protection and site assessment.

Sustainable Reuse

Sustainable land reuse 

and prevention of future 

recontamination is central to 

the land revitalization vision. 

EPA land revitalization staff 

are advancing best practices to 

manage stormwater on sites, 

protect watersheds, restore native 

ecological systems, erect greener 

buildings, and support healthy, 

vibrant communities.

Partnerships

To be effective, land revitalization 

requires collaboration among 

many stakeholders. The Land 

Revitalization Staff is working 

with all levels of government, 

community and watershed groups, 

and the private sector to clean up 

and appropriately reuse land. 

HQ — www.epa.gov/landrevitalization/

Region 1 (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) — www.epa.gov/region1/

Region 2 (NJ, NY, PR, VI) — www.epa.gov/region2/

Region 3 (DE, DC, MD, PA, VA, WV) — www.epa.gov/region03/revitalization/

Region 4 (AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN) — www.epa.gov/region04/waste/

Region 5 (IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI) — www.epa.gov/region5/

Region 6 (AR, LA, NM, OK, TX) — www.epa.gov/region6/

Region 7 (IA, KS, MO, NE) — www.epa.gov/region7/

Region 8 (CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY) — www.epa.gov/Region8/land_waste/revitalization/

Region 9 (AZ, CA, HI, NV) — www.epa.gov/region9/

Region 10 (AK, ID, OR, WA) — www.epa.gov/region10/