September 25, 2009
Michele Mahoney, USEPA Office of Superfund Remediation & Technology Innovation
Ecological revitalization refers to the process of returning land from a contaminated state to one that supports a functioning and sustainable habitat. Although the final decision on how a property is reused is inherently a local decision that often rests with the property owner, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) actively supports and encourages ecological revitalization, when appropriate, during and after the assessment and cleanup of contaminated properties under its cleanup programs. Ecological revitalization of contaminated properties is consistent with EPA's mission to protect human health and the environment, and it is an integral component of EPA's cleanup programs. Under its cleanup programs, EPA ensures that (1) ecological revitalization does not compromise the protectiveness of the cleanup and (2) the best interests of stakeholders are considered.
EPA's cleanup programs have established initiatives that support ecological revitalization and provide a variety of tools, information resources, and technical assistance. Collaboration and coordination with stakeholders is important for promoting ecological revitalization across EPA's programs.
EPA recently released a cross-cleanup program paper on this subject. This document (1) provides an overview of EPA's cleanup programs and resources available to support ecological revitalization; (2) addresses technical considerations to help property managers and other stakeholders carry out ecological revitalization at contaminated properties; and (3) presents general planning and process considerations for ecological revitalization of wetlands, streams, and terrestrial ecosystems as well as successful long-term stewardship. Appendix A at the end of the document presents additional case studies on ecological revitalization at various sites. You can find this paper at www.cluin.org/ecotools/ under Resources.
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