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RCRA Redevelopment and Reuse
Frequently Asked Questions
What is RCRA Redevelopment and Reuse?
RCRA Redevelopment and Reuse consists of sites where the RCRA Corrective Action cleanup is integrated with a plan for redevelopment. Redevelopment of RCRA facilities results in safe reuse of properties, provides jobs to communities and reduces urban sprawl.
What is RCRA Corrective Action?
RCRA Corrective Action is the program within the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) which requires facilities to evaluate and conduct facility-wide cleanups of releases of hazardous wastes and hazardous constituents from RCRA treatment, storage and disposal facilities. A facility initiates RCRA Corrective Action when EPA, the State, or the company itself determines that releases to the environment have occurred which may pose an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment. Unlike the Superfund program, which primarily addresses abandoned sites, RCRA Corrective Action generally works with current property owners and operators. In Region 3, the focus is on the 284 baseline facilities designated as high priority sites.
How is Region 3 fostering RCRA Redevelopment and Reuse ?
Region 3 meets with RCRA facilities, States, various EPA programs, developers and communities to design practical solutions to property transfers, facility cleanups and redevelopment at RCRA high priority corrective action sites, while ensuring protection of human health and the environment. Region 3 has assisted in the redevelopment of both private and federally owned RCRA Corrective Action sites in a variety of ways including: coordinating with State voluntary and economic programs; providing comfort letters, prospective purchaser agreement and, prospective lessee agreement to alleviate concern regarding future environmental liability; deferring cleanups at federal facilities to the Superfund Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Program; accelerating EPA reviews to facilitate the cleanup on a targeted parcel of property; and providing completion determinations.
What is the national RCRA Brownfield's Prevention Initative?
EPA Headquarters created RCRA Brownfield's Prevention Initiative to encourage the reuse of potential RCRA Brownfields so that the land better serves needs of the community either through more productive commercial or residential development or as greenspace. It provides a national forum for identifying and communicating the challenges to redevelopment and facilitating innovative approaches to restore and redevelop RCRA sites. The work group is a collaborative effort of individuals from EPA Headquarters, regional offices and some states.