Direct support is available to:
- State governments
- Local governments
- Tribes
- Brownfields Grantees
- EPA Regional Coordinators
- EPA Remedial Project Managers
- EPA On-Scene Coordinators
- Other EPA Regional staff
Information about site investigation and cleanup activities is available to all brownfields stakeholders, including:
- Real estate professionals, developers, financial institutions, and other private redevelopment interests
- Engineers, consultants, and other private remediation professionals
- Potentially responsible parties
- Affected communities
- Members of the public
Helping Decision-makers
A brownfields site is defined as "real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant." Decision-makers involved with preparing brownfields sites for productive reuse often require technical and legal assistance to fully understand the complexities of investigating and cleaning up contaminated sites.
EPA created the BTSC in 1998 to help decision-makers:
- Evaluate strategies to streamline the site investigation and cleanup process
- Identify and review information about complex technology options
- Evaluate contractor capabilities and recommendations
- Explain complex technologies to communities
If traditional site assessment and cleanup approaches are too time-consuming and expensive to support the development of your brownfields site, the BTSC may be able to help you.
Learn more about us, our partners, and our services.
The Brownfields and Land Revitalization Technology Support
Center (BTSC, formerly the Brownfields Technology Support
Center) is a cooperative effort to provide technical support to federal, state, local, and
tribal officials for questions related to the use of innovative
technologies and strategies for site assessment and cleanup.
Partners in the BTSC include the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response
(OSWER) and Office of Research and Development (ORD);
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and Argonne National
Laboratory. As a Center partner, EPA’s Brownfields Program
helps to identify support needed by EPA’s Brownfields Program
participants.
Overview of Accomplishments
Since its creation in 1998, the BTSC has provided information to hundreds of stakeholders, direct site support to more than 70 sites, and helped increase awareness and use of innovative technologies and techniques for investigation and remediation of contaminated sites. Through direct support, the development of publications and other technology transfer activities, the BTSC is helping to advance the efficient cleanup and redevelopment of sites nationwide.
Learn more about us by visiting the accomplishments page.
EPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response
EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) provides policy,
guidance, and direction for the land disposal of hazardous wastes, underground
storage tanks, solid waste management, encouragement of innovative technologies,
source reduction of wastes, and management of the Superfund Program. OSWER's
priorities include the following:
- Land revitalization, and making property reuse an important part of
all cleanup activities
- Enhancing counter-terrorism
- Better integrating information
- Reducing waste and recovering energy
- Campaigning against waste
- Workforce development and succession planning
OSWER's goal for revitalization is to broadly promote the lessons learned by
the Brownfields program and how revitalization can complement traditional cleanup
programs and lead to faster cleanups. Several offices within OSWER are helping
EPA achieve this goal.
EPA Office of Research and Development
EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) is the principal scientific
research arm of EPA. ORD is organized into three national laboratories and
two national centers, and conducts research and fosters the use of science and
technology in fulfilling EPA's mission. Technology Support Center services include
site-specific assistance in the areas of Superfund, RCRA, and Brownfields; technology
transfer activities; technical assistance; development and testing of management
techniques; and the development of training courses.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) manages engineering, construction, and
real estate programs for various federal agencies. USACE is a partner with
EPA and other federal agencies in helping communities prevent, assess, safely
clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. USACE has established a network
of brownfields specialists throughout the country, and provides assistance through
the Hazardous, Toxic and Radioactive Waste Center of Expertise (HTRW); the U.S.
Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Environmental Lab at Waterways
Experiment Station (ERDC-WES); and the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development
Center, Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL). USACE is also
involved in revitalization efforts at BRAC sites and Formerly Used Defense Sites
(FUDS).
USACE provides technical assistance to communities for the assessment and evaluation
of sites. USACE expertise enables it to help communities address various challenges
related to revitalization, such as:
- Obtain site assessment services and funds
- Develop integrated plans to promote comprehensive community enhancements
- Provide technical solutions for site assessment and restoration issues
Argonne National Laboratory
The Argonne National Laboratory is a multi-disciplinary research and development
laboratory focused on basic science, nuclear and non-nuclear energy science
and technologies, national security, and environmental matters. In the environmental
area, Argonne's activities range from studies of fundamental contaminant behavior
to risk management associated with cleanup and site long-term stewardship. Argonne
assists several federal agencies with environmental technical support in the
areas of characterization, process systems and engineering, and integrated management.
Argonne assists the EPA's BTSC in the application of its Triad approach to sampling
and analysis to manage site decision uncertainty.
Specific services provided by Argonne include:
- Review of plans for investigations
- Assistance in preparing site assessment plans and strategies
- Assistance in selecting and deploying technologies and methodologies
for investigations of soil and groundwater contamination
EPA Office of Brownfields Cleanup and Redevelopment
EPA's Office of Brownfields Cleanup and Redevelopment (OBCR) empowers states,
communities, and other stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together
in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse
brownfields. EPA is funding assessment demonstration pilot programs to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup
and redevelopment models; job training pilot programs to provide training for residents of communities affected by brownfields
to facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and prepare trainees for future employment
in the environmental field; and cleanup revolving loan fund programs to capitalize loan funds for the environmental
cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs are intended to provide EPA, states,
tribes, municipalities, and communities with useful information and strategies
as they continue to seek new methods to promote a unified approach to site assessment,
environmental cleanup, and redevelopment.
Brownfields stakeholders involved in the selection and use of technologies
for environmental cleanup can visit OBCR's Web site to learn more about the
brownfields grant programs that are available. The BTSC works closely with OBCR
and can provide direct technical assistance to communities that participate
in OBCR's initiatives and grant programs.
Click this button to expand a Quick Finder with links to each of the main pages.
This site provides an overview of the services and support provided by the BTSC, including news, publications, and other technical information for Brownfields stakeholders. Descriptions of each of the major pages are provided below.
Provides an online form for submitting comments to the BTSC.
Lists contact information and points of contact for BTSC techncial services, state brownfields programs, and EPA regional brownfields offices.
Provides information about federal agencies that may be able to provide technical assistance in the selection and use of technologies to characterize and clean up properties for land revitalization and reuse.
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Explains the specific types of services that the BTSC offers to local and state government personnel, EPA staff, tribes, and nonprofits with active EPA Brownfields Cleanup Grants.
The BTSC invites users to submit requests for information and support services through the online forms available from this page. This page also provides details about the eligibility requirements for those services.
Includes news from EPA and information and links to upcoming and recent events.
Lists publications, online resources, and Web sites related to the services provided by the BTSC. This page also provides an online glossary and acronym list. Older resources that may remain useful to the brownfields community (for example, presentations from past conferences) are available from the archive section of this page.
Makes available resources and examples that explain concerns about procuring support for implementation of innovative technologies and strategies.
Summarizes results of the operations of the BTSC, including annual and quarterly reports.
Offers a wide range of search criteria to find useful information about BTSC projects, techncial staff, and resources.
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