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Planning for Site Reuse
Numerous factors can influence the reuse potential of contaminated sites. These factors and characteristics include on-site factors (e.g., the type of site, site size and configuration, prior use, type and extent of contamination, current status of the site), as well as off-site factors such as local real estate market conditions.
The following steps should provide you with revitalization tools and resources to help you gather information about your site, including the type of site (e.g., brownfield, Superfund, RCRA site), if it is an EPA site or state site, and other important reuse considerations. The information will also enable you to communicate with the appropriate revitalization contacts within Region 4 to help you take advantage of the most appropriate revitalization tools and resources to help with the redevelopment of your site.
- Type of Site
- Agency Overseeing Site
- Status of Site
- Site Search
- Site Reuse Considerations
- Revitalization Tools
- Agency Contacts
Step 1: Determine the Type of Contaminated Property
To take advantage of the most appropriate and useful revitalization tools, and to better understand the potential opportunities and barriers to reuse, it is important to understand the kind of site you are interested in reusing because there are different types or categories of contaminated property. The type of site can impact the types of revitalization tools and assistance available for the site. For example, some legal, financial, or technical revitalization tools and resources may only apply to certain sites (e.g., Superfund sites on the National Priorities List are typically not eligible for Brownfield grants).
Step 2: Determine Which Government Agency is in Charge of Cleaning Up the Site or Property
Recognizing whether the site is being cleaned up by EPA or by your state is another important piece of information. Knowing who is in charge of cleaning up the site will help you contact the appropriate federal or state governmental agency and to take advantage of the appropriate revitalization tools that are available for your site and site type.
The federal, state and local governments have different legal authorities and different revitalization tools. Being aware of these factors is important as national, state, and even local authorities all have laws and policies in place that can impact the redevelopment of contaminated and formerly contaminated sites.
Step 3: Determine the Current Status of the Site or Property
Site conditions and circumstances may determine how and when redevelopment of a site can proceed. Some sites or properties may have perceived contamination issues, but need to be assessed before anything further can happen with the site. Other sites may have had some cleanup occur to address immediate contamination hazards, but additional cleanup work will be needed before redevelopment can occur. Many sites can be reused during the cleanup work as long as the owner or user of the site is aware of the limitations, such as refraining from sinking ground water wells. If you are not already familiar with environmental conditions at your site, collecting information on the site will be a critical next step. Region 4 recommends collecting the following information on your site.
- Current status of environmental conditions at the site.
- Future anticipated cleanup actions at the site.
- Current or future restrictions on the use of the site.
- Compatibility between anticipated use of the site and the cleanup or restrictions on use.
- Liability protections that are available.
- Liens associated with cleanup work (only applies to some types of contaminated property).
Step 4: Search for Your Property or Site
If you do not know what type of site you have (e.g., Brownfield, Superfund site, state site), or the status of your site, there are a number of online contaminated site inventories and databases that you can search for additional information about the type and status of your site.
The following links can help you determine if your site is a known contaminated site, on an existing site inventory, and the status of the site. The links will also help in determining if the site is being cleaned up by EPA under one of its cleanup programs or if site cleanup is funded by your state.
- Step 4a: See if your site is in an EPA site inventory
- Cleanups in my Community
Cleanups in my Community is a listing tool that shows sites throughout the United States where pollution is being or has been cleaned up. It provides cleanup progress profiles for sites, facilities, and properties that are being, or have been, cleaned up under EPA's Superfund, RCRA and/or Brownfields cleanup programs. Cleanups in my Community does not include sites that are being cleaned up or funded by state or local agencies. As a result, your site search may uncover no information about your site, which may indicate your site is being overseen by the relevant agency or department in your state.
- Cleanups in my Community
- Step 4b: See if your site is in a state site inventory
- Alabama
Preliminary Brownfields inventory for Alabama Department of Environmental Management sites. - Florida
State of Florida GeoViewer - a mapping tool designed to help you discover and map Brownfield sites in Florida. - Georgia
A list of sites in Georgia where there has been a known or suspected release of a regulated substance. - Kentucky
A list of all sites addressed under state authority is available through an Open Records Request with the State of Kentucky. - Mississippi
(627 K, Excel)
State of Mississippi brownfields inventory. - North Carolina
(15 pp, 110 K, about PDF)
State of North Carolina hazardous site inventory. - South Carolina
South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control public record database provides a listing of state sites in the Public Record. - Tennessee
(6 pp, 45 K, about PDF)
State of Tennessee hazardous site list.
- Alabama
Land Revitalization Regional Contacts
If your site or property does not show up in either the Cleanups in my
Community tool or the appropriate inventory for your state, an appropriate
revitalization contact person may be able to help you.
Step 5: Examine and Review Other Site Reuse Considerations
The process of getting a formerly contaminated or potentially contaminated site or property back into use is influenced by many factors and issues that affect how to effectively revitalize a contaminated site or property. View a list of revitalization topics and issues to consider as you begin to explore reuse opportunities at your site.
Step 6: Explore Revitalization Tools for Your Revitalization Project
EPA and the states have developed numerous tools to assist in the revitalization of contaminated properties. Region 4 encourages you to contact us to learn more about the right tool to help you purchase, sell, finance, assess, clean, or use the site. For example, revitalization tools include:
- Informational tools and resources
- Funding opportunities
- Legal tools such as liability protections and settlement agreements
Step 7: Contact the Government Agency in Charge of the Cleanup
After you have identified and researched the type of site you are interested in revitalizing, contact the government agency or agencies in charge of the cleanup for more information about the status of the site, available liability protections, and to take advantage of the appropriate revitalization tools that are available for your site and site type.
- Region 4 Prospective Purchaser Inquiry Service:
If the site you are interested in revitalizing is undergoing or has undergone a cleanup of regional federal interest, meaning that EPA Region 4 was in charge of the cleanup, you have the opportunity to participate in a service that Region 4 offers to prospective purchasers, lessees, and sellers of contaminated or formerly contaminated property. That service is called the Prospective Purchaser Inquiry service (4 pp, 183 K, about PDF) and its purpose is to offer one-stop shopping for information that will allow a prospective purchaser to make a timely business decision on whether to purchase a site or not. This service is available for federal Superfund sites, RCRA sites, and other sites with federal jurisdiction. This service is not available for brownfield sites because the states are in charge of brownfield cleanups.
You should contact the Region 4 staff assigned to the site of federal interest to schedule a Prospective Purchaser Inquiry call.