Long Term Stewardship of Contaminated Sites

Decisions about environmental remediation at hazardous waste sites are increasingly cost-driven and based on planned future use of the land. As a result, hazardous substances may be left in place. A critical, yet often overlooked, aspect of environmental remediation at such sites is the implementation of institutional measures to ensure that public health is protected over the long term. ELI’s Long Term Stewardship of Contaminated Sites program has examined such measures, often referred to as institutional controls, for more than ten years, and often serves as an expert voice on the legal and policy issues associated with long term stewardship. In our work on long term stewardship and institutional controls, we:

• Conduct research and analysis of legal and policy options to inform recommendations for the long term stewardship of contaminated sites, including federally owned sites, Superfund sites, and brownfields;
• Provide training on implementation of measures for long term stewardship; and
• Draft model legislation on institutional controls and other stewardship issues.

Recent Publications

• Local Government Implementation of Long-Term Stewardship at Two DOE Facilities (2003)
• An Analysis of State Superfund Programs: 50-State Study, 2001 Update (2002)
• Role of Local Governments in Long-Term Stewardship at DOE Facilities (2001)
• Quantifying Long Term Environmental Risk for Brownfields: Are Reopeners Really and Issue? (2000) (Preliminary Results)
• Draft D.C. Brownfields Legislation (model brownfields legislation)
• Protecting Public Health at Superfund Sites: Can Institutional Controls Meet the Challenge? (2000)
• “Sustainable Redevelopment of Brownfields: Using Institutional Controls to Protect Public Health” (Environmental Law Reporter, May 1999)
• Institutional Controls Case Study: Grand Junction (1999)
• Institutional Controls Case Study: Mound Plant (1999)
• An Analysis of State Superfund Programs: 50-State Study, 1998 Update (1998)
• An Analysis of State Superfund Programs: 50-State Study, 1995 Update (1996)
• “Use of Institutional Controls as Part of a Superfund Remedy: Lessons From Other Programs” (Environmental Law Reporter, March 1996)
• Institutional Controls in Use (1995)
• ELI Research Brief #2: Reauthorizing Superfund: Lessons from the States (1993)

Related Conferences, Seminars and Workshops

• Role of Local Government in Long-Term Stewardship Roundtable — Denver, CO (2000)
• Workshop on Long-Term Stewardship and Institutional Controls for Local Governments at DOE Sites — Westminster, CO (1999)