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U.S. EPA Contaminated Site Cleanup Information (CLU-IN)


U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. EPA Technology Innovation and Field Services Division
Publications, Resources, and Links

EPA Publications

  • Barriers, Opportunities, and Strategies for Urban Ecosystem Restoration: Lessons Learned from Restoration Managers in Rhode Island, U.S.A.
    Urban ecosystem restoration can be especially difficult to accomplish because of complications like industrial pollutants, population density, infrastructure, and expense; however, the unique opportunities in urban settings can make urban restoration especially rewarding. The success of urban restoration projects — even those focused primarily on ecological targets — depends on incorporating the findings of social research, though that research is relatively rare. This EPA Report attempts to fill that gap by presenting barriers, opportunities, and strategies for restoration projects in urban settings. Building from interviews with restoration managers involved in a suite of aquatic restoration projects in Rhode Island, the report contributes to the learning axis of adaptive management by identifying and synthesizing the lessons learned from managers' work in urban settings.

    Land Revitalization Program Tools for Communities
    PDF (731 KB)

  • Henry's Knob Site Case Study
    This case study highlights ecological revitalization outcomes at the Henry's Knob Superfund Alternative Approach site in York County, South Carolina. The native vegetation on site attracts a variety of pollinator species, including bees, wasps, butterflies and birds. Blue Vervain, for example, attracts a variety of bees and birds, including Cardinals, Swamp Sparrows, Field Sparrows, Eucerine Miner Bees, Halictid Bees and the Verbena Bee.

    Henry's Knob Site Case Study
    PDF (3.86 MB)

  • Land Revitalization Program Tools for Communities. U.S. EPA. February 2016.
    This fact sheet highlights some of the tools that have resulted from regional community-based projects undertaken with assistance from the Land Revitalization Program. These useful tools can be adapted for use in other communities.

    Land Revitalization Program Tools for Communities
    PDF (1.7 MB)

  • Rocky Mountain Arsenal Case Study
    This case study highlights the Superfund Redevelopment Program's cleanup and reuse of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Site in Colorado, a former munitions production site active during World War II. Following the war, weapons production continued and a succession of other private and military facility uses included pesticide and rocket fuel production. In the early 1980s, the primary liquid waste and munitions disposal area was one of the most polluted sites in America. Today, the site has been transformed into a valuable wildlife refuge and community asset.

    Rocky Mountain Arsenal Case Study
    PDF (8.8 MB)

  • Terrestrial Carbon Sequestration: Analysis of Terrestrial Carbon Sequestration at Three Contaminated Sites Remediated and Revitalized with Soil Amendments. EPA 542-R-10-003. Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. U.S. EPA. February 2011.
    This paper provides EPA's analysis of the data to determine carbon sequestration rates at three diverse sites that differ in geography/location, weather, soil properties, type of contamination, and age. The first site, located at high elevation in Leadville, Colorado, suffered from contamination due to mining. The site was amended with biosolid cakes, biosolids pellets, biosolid compost, and limestone starting in 1998. The second site, located in Stafford County, Virginia, had highly reduced, high-sulfur soils resulting from construction activities for an airport at the site. When exposed to air, these soils rapidly acidified, causing acid runoff that contaminated local streams. The site was amended with biosolids in 2002. The third site, Sharon Steel, is located at the border of Pennsylvania and Ohio and was contaminated through the application of by-products associated with manufacturing steel. At Sharon Steel, soil amendments were applied as part of a field demonstration project in 2008.

    Terrestrial Carbon Sequestration: Analysis of Terrestrial Carbon Sequestration at Three Contaminated Sites Remediated and Revitalized with Soil Amendments
    PDF (5.1 MB)

  • Terrestrial Carbon Sequestration: Field Guide for Sampling and Analysis at Sites Remediated with Soil Amendments. EPA 542-R-10-002. Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. U.S. EPA. June 2010.
    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Technology Innovation and Field Services division developed this field guide to provide a consistent sampling approach across sites being analyzed for terrestrial carbon sequestration. EPA wants to partner with other federal, state, tribal, and local agencies, academia, and other interested parties to build our knowledge of terrestrial carbon sequestration rates. This field guide focuses on a methodology to provide data that can be used in mathematical equations and models to determine terrestrial carbon sequestration rates in soil. Equations in this guide focus on use of carbon data, but the approach provides for a range of parameters that can be used for related carbon sequestration analyses.

    Field Guide PDF
    Field Guide
    PDF (7.1 MB)
    Field Guide Appendices PDF
    Field Guide Appendices
    PDF (9.3 MB)

  • Ecological Revitalization: Turning Contaminated Properties Into Community Assets. EPA 542-R-08-003. Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. U.S. EPA. February 2009.
    This document provides technical information to assist property managers and other stakeholders better understand, coordinate, and conduct ecological revitalization at contaminated properties during cleanup.  Specifically, this document presents general planning and process considerations for ecological revitalization and provides technical considerations for implementing ecological revitalization of wetlands, streams, and terrestrial ecosystems during cleanup. This document also highlights EPA's initiatives and resources that are available, and presents numerous site-specific examples and case studies where ecological revitalization has occurred.

    Ecological Revitalization PDF
    PDF (4.5 MB)
    Ecological Revitalization Fact Sheet PDF
    Fact Sheet PDF (220 K)

  • The Use of Soil Amendments for Remediation, Revitalization, and Reuse. U.S. EPA. December 2007. (Download 1.74MB PDF)
    Hundreds of thousands of acres of disturbed and contaminated land scar this country's landscape. This paper provides information on the use of soil amendments, a cost effective in situ process for remediation, revitalization, and reuse of many types of disturbed and contaminated landscapes.

  • EPA CLU-IN Ecological Revitalization Fact Sheets:

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EPA Websites

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Videos

Blackwell Forest Preserve: A Reuse Success Story Video
Blackwell Forest Preserve: A Reuse Success Story Video
Download MPEG-4 Video (40.9MB)

Ecological Reuse: The Importance of Ecological Reuse
Photo of Ecological Reuse: The Importance of Ecological Reuse Video
Download MPEG-4 Video (21.1MB)

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Federal Resources

  • Bureau of Land Management — National Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration
    A collaboration between federal agencies, non-federal partners, and valuable input from private industry and tribal, state, and local governments, the National Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration is designed to provide a more coordinated approach to restoring plant communities. Its mission is to ensure the availability of genetically appropriate seed to restore viable and productive plant communities and sustainable ecosystems.
  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – Office of Response and Restoration
    The NOAA Office of Response and Restoration coordinates restoration and recovery efforts for the U.S.'s marine and coastal resources, particularly areas affected by oil spills or marine debris.
  • U.S. Department of Agriculture:
    • Natural Resources Conservation Center Conservation Programs
      A list of all conservation programs carried out by the NRCS. Includes programs focused on technical assistance, environmental improvement, stewardship, easement, water resources, and community assistance.
    • Agricultural Research Service
      ARS is the USDA's principal scientific research agency, dedicated to finding solutions to agricultural problems.
    • Economic Research Service
      Describes soil conservation activities carried out by the USDA Economic Research Service, which focuses on costs, benefits, and effectiveness of soil conservation programs.
    • Forest Service
      An overview of Forest Service research and management tools focused on control of non-native plant and insect species and plant diseases.
      • Forest Service RNGR Team: Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetics
        Technical information, resources, and links for forest and conservation seedling growers.
      • Grassland, Shrubland, and Desert Ecosystems (GSD) Program
        The 2015 Annual Report for the GSD program looks at a few of the 2015 research and application studies conducted by scientists and their partners with GSD. Significant results of recent research and science delivery by GSD scientists are highlighted.
      • Great Basin Native Plant Selection and Increase Project
        A multi-agency collaboration, begun in 2001, to increase the availability of native plant materials and the success of native plant communities in the Great Basin of the United States.
      • Seedlot Selection Tool
        The Seedlot Selection Tool (SST) is a web-based decision-support tool designed to help forest managers match seedlots (seed collections from a known origin) with planting sites based on climatic information. The SST can be used to map current climates, or future climates based on selected climate change scenarios. It can help forest managers or planners match an appropriate planting site with an appropriate seedlot under both current and future climates and to calculate seed transfer distances based on climatic information. The tool allows the user to control many input parameters so the results can reflect the management practices, climate change assumptions, and risk tolerance of the user.
    • USDA Service Centers
      USDA Service Centers are designed to be a single location where customers can access the services provided by USDA agencies. This web site will provide the address of a USDA Service Center and other Agency offices serving your area along with information on how to contact them.

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State Government Resources

For organizations listed by region or individual state please click on the "Act Locally" button located in the menu bar or click here: Act Locally

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Additional Government Publications

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Additional Resources and Publications

    • Center for Invasive Species Management
      Comprehensive list of resources for information on restoration and revegetation, including restoration guidelines and management information, sources of native plants and seeds, and links to restoration organizations.
    • Center for Plant Conservation (CPC) Online Directory
      CPC is a network of 36 leading botanic institutions that offers a national program of off-site conservation of rare plant material and maintains the National Collection of Endangered Plants. The online CPC Plant Conservation Directory contains useful contacts in each state for information on rare and endangered plants, permit procedures, and government programs; botanists and other contacts in state Heritage Programs and Native Plant Societies; and a searchable database of organizations and experts active in the conservation of rare plants and their areas of expertise.
    • Florida Wildflower Foundation - Wildflower Literature
      Here you will find a growing collection of scientific articles on Florida's native wildflowers. The wildflowers included are commonly occurring plants that are commercially available or used in restoration projects.
    • Society for Ecological Restoration International (SER)
      SER is an international society for professionals in the field of ecological restoration. The society promotes ecological restoration through conferences, publications, and other activities.
    • Texas A&M University Revegetation Equipment Catalog
      Descriptions and information on equipment used in rangeland restoration and revegetation.
    • The Conservation Foundation
      Not-for-profit preservation, advocacy, and education organization dedicated to protecting ecosystems and the responsible stewardship of the natural world.

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