The Revitalization Handbook: Revitalizing Contaminated Lands: Addressing Liability Concerns

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (the EPA) Office of Site Remediation Enforcement (OSRE) manages the enforcement of the nation's hazardous waste cleanup laws, including the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, commonly known as Superfund), the corrective action and underground storage tank cleanup provisions of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and the Oil Pollution Act (OPA). The main objective of the cleanup enforcement program is to ensure prompt site cleanup and the participation of liable parties in performing and paying for cleanups in a manner that ensures protection of human health and the environment. Both CERCLA and RCRA are designed to protect human health and the environment from the dangers of improperly disposed hazardous substances. The RCRA programs focus on how wastes should be managed to avoid potential threats to human health and the environment. CERCLA, on the other hand, applies primarily when contamination has already occurred, resulting in releases of hazardous substances to the environment. Both programs, however, have cleanup authorities that address contaminated sites. This handbook summarizes the statutory, policy and guidance, and regulatory provisions that may be helpful to parties looking to manage environmental cleanup liability risks associated with the revitalization of contaminated sites. It is designed for use by parties involved in the assessment, cleanup, and revitalization of sites, and provides a basic description of the tools that may be available to address liability concerns.