Superfund Technical Assistance for Communities

Federal Agency

Sub-Department

Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM)

Purpose

EPA's Superfund program is responsible for cleaning up some of the nation’s most contaminated lands. To support healthy communities and strengthen environmental protection, EPA works closely with communities to make sure they have the technical help they need. EPA provides additional assistance to communities through a variety of technical assistance resources and tools, listed below.

Applicant and/or Project Eligibility Requirements

Types of technical assistance include a needs assessment, community education, independent technical advisors, and site decision planning.

Decarbonization Considerations

Transforming underutilized or abandoned Superfund sites in your community into clean energy hubs can also spur economic revitalization. As of October 2021, EPA identified 74 Superfund sites that now host clean energy. These funds can help determine which brownfields and closed landfill sites may be good fits for hosting solar or other renewable energy. The EPA offers explicit guidance for considering such "brightfields" projects: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/are-you-considering-renewable-energy-or-energy-efficient-approaches-your-brownfields

Equity Considerations

More than one in four Black and Hispanic Americans live within 3 miles of a Superfund site. No community deserves to have contamination near where they live, work, play, and go to school. With this funding, communities living near many of the most serious uncontrolled or abandoned releases of contamination will finally get the support they deserve to reconsider the future of these sites.

Helpful Tips

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Other Notes

For more information on EPA's RE-Powering America's Lands program, see here: https://www.epa.gov/re-powering/re-powering-tracking-matrix