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Types of Contaminated Sites
There are many different types of contaminated sites you may encounter when redeveloping a property. To learn more about each site type, visit EPA's Land Revitalization Web site.
| Superfund | Superfund sites are uncontrolled or abandoned sites or properties where hazardous waste or other contamination is located. A contaminated site is generally considered a "Superfund site" if the federal government is or plans to be involved in cleanup efforts. Many of these sites are listed on the National Priorities List (NPL). [More information on Superfund enforcement is available on the Superfund cleanup enforcement Web pages.] |
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| Brownfields | Brownfield sites are real properties, the expansion, development, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Generally, the federal government is not involved at brownfields. Rather, state and tribal response programs play a significant role in cleaning up and helping to revitalize these sites, frequently through state voluntary cleanup programs. |
| RCRA | Treatment, storage and disposal facilities regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) may have releases into the environment, requiring cleanup. "RCRA brownfields" are RCRA facilities where reuse or redevelopment is slowed due to real or perceived concerns about actual or potential contamination, liability, and RCRA requirements. More Information about RCRA brownfields is available on the Agency’s RCRA Brownfields Prevention Initiative Web site. |
| USTs | Underground storage tank (UST) sites are sites that contain contamination from petroleum products or CERCLA hazardous substances that were released from underground storage tanks. [More information on Cleaning Up And Reusing Abandoned Gas Station Sites.] |
| Federal Facilities | Federal facility sites are properties owned or operated by the United States Government that may contain environmental contamination from unexploded ordnance, radioactive waste, or other hazardous substances. |
| State Sites | Sites not addressed by EPA as Superfund or RCRA sites are often addressed by the state in which the site is located. State cleanup programs can vary considerably. Many states have a state Superfund program or state Brownfield program. States also have "voluntary cleanup" programs that address other contaminated sites. |