Estimating the Cost of Institutional Controls

Author
John Pendergrass, Environmental Law Institute & Katherine N. Probst, Resources for the Future
Date Released
May 2005
Estimating the Cost of Institutional Controls

This report, co-produced with Resources for the Future, introduces for the first time a framework that can be used to plan for the types of activities and associated costs required to implement successfully institutional controls (ICs). Institutional controls are used at contaminated sites that are cleaned up to standards based on the assumption that they will be used in ways that will avoid exposing people to hazardous substances that remain in buried soils or groundwater. Specifically, ICs are used to ensure that the assumptions about the use of the site are upheld and the appropriate uses maintained in order to prevent future exposure to remaining contaminants. By way of example, institutional controls may include state and local government land use controls (such as zoning restrictions), property-law based controls (such as restrictive covenants), government controls (such as certificates of completion), and informational devices (such as advisories).

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