Redevelopment Economics at Superfund Sites
You will need Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA’s About PDF page to learn more.Communities reuse Superfund sites in many ways – new parks, shopping centers, athletic fields, wildlife sanctuaries, manufacturing facilities, residences, and new roads and infrastructure centers, are just a few examples. EPA can work with communities throughout the cleanup process to make sure future users at these sites will be safe.
EPA looks at many types of beneficial effects of reuse at Superfund sites including:
- Number of on-site jobs.
- Annual employment income from on-site jobs.
- On-site property value information.
- Local property tax revenues.
- Other beneficial effects that are unique to specific sites.
EPA captures these beneficial effects at Superfund sites in four ways:
- SRI tracks general estimates on the numbers of on-site jobs, income from jobs and sales revenue data for a number of sites in retail, commercial or industrial reuse to give a general overview of the national beneficial effects associated with Superfund redevelopment.
- SRI compiles regional beneficial effects profiles to track the economic effects and benefits to the community at a region-wide scale.
- SRI writes local beneficial effects case studies that allow for a site-specific approach to gathering more complete information related to reuse, employment and other economic impacts.
- Some communities provide EPA with economic information during the development of in-depth case studies, which is highlighted in the reports.
- MacGillis & Gibbs Reuse Case Study (PDF) (14 pp, 844 K)
- Midvale Slag Reuse Case Study (PDF) (18 pp, 1.9 MB)
- South Point Plant Reuse Case Study (PDF) (14 pp, 4.4 MB)
National Beneficial Effects
Innovative business owners and organizations reuse Superfund sites for a variety of purposes. Some uses can play a role in economically revitalizing a community. EPA has estimated the national economic benefits of Superfund sites in reuse between 2011 and 2015. In 2015, 454 Superfund sites had available economic data, representing only a percentage of the 849 sites where some kind of reuse is occurring.
Estimate of National Economic Impacts ¹ |
|||||
Number of Sites in |
Number of |
Annual Sales |
Jobs |
Annual |
|
454 |
3,908 |
$29.0 billion |
108,445 |
$7.8 billion |
|
1. See the Appendix for Estimate of National Economic Impacts |
Readily available internet and database sources are utilized to create estimates of national totals related to the beneficial effects of Superfund sites in reuse. Without more extensive research it is not always possible to identify all business names and addresses on site.
Jobs are not the only way communities benefit when Superfund sites are cleaned up. A 2009 report provides an overview of how cleaning up sites may benefit home prices:
- Challenges in Applying Property Value Studies to Assess the Benefits of the Superfund Program (PDF)(35 pp, 427 K)
Regional Beneficial Effects
SRI has developed regional economic profiles that tell a story about the role of Superfund in each EPA region and the beneficial effects of reusing formerly contaminated properties. These reports summarize economic data collected for Superfund sites within an EPA region. They also highlight successes and put them in the context of aggregated data within the state and EPA region.
- Region 1 (Updated) (PDF) (22 pp, 7.8 MB)
- Region 2 (Updated) (PDF) (19 pp, 9.0 MB)
- Region 3 (PDF) (20 pp, 5.7 MB)
- Region 4 (Updated) (PDF) (24 pp, 10.3 MB)
- Region 5 (Updated) (PDF) (22 pp, 8.2 MB)
- Region 6 (Updated) (PDF) (22 pp, 9.8 MB)
- Region 7 (PDF) (20 pp, 5.4 MB)
- Region 8 (PDF) (24 pp, 7.7 MB)
- Region 9 (PDF) (22 pp, 10.6 MB)
- Region 10 (PDF) (20 pp, 7.5 MB)
Local Beneficial Effects
A local beneficial effects case study gathers more complete information related to reuse, employment and other beneficial effects. While national impact estimates may underestimate jobs, a local beneficial effects case study can obtain detailed information about economic benefits for every company present on the site, in addition to unique economic benefits provided by particular uses, such as alternative energy.
Each local beneficial effects case study includes a technical appendix that provides an overview of the approaches, assumptions and methodologies used to obtain estimates on local beneficial effects.
- Abex Corporation (2011) (PDF) (8 pp, 267 K)
- Aidex Corporation (2015) (PDF)(7 pp, 899 K)
- Benfield Industries (2012) (PDF) (7 pp, 365 K)
- BMI-Textron and Trans Circuits, Inc. (2014) (PDF) (10 pp, 509 K)
- Calhoun Park Area (2014) (PDF) (17 pp, 1.8 MB)
- California Gulch (2014) (PDF) (13 pp, 1.1 MB)
- Coalinga Asbestos Mine (2015) (PDF)(21 pp, 1.3 MB)
- Davie Landfill (2014) (PDF) (57 pp, 1.2 MB)
- Del Amo (2013) (PDF) (44 pp, 1.5 MB)
- E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc. (Newport Pigment Plant Landfill) (2014) (PDF) (7 pp, 499 K)
- FMC Corp. (Yakima Pit) (2014) (PDF) (7 pp, 772 K)
- General Mills/Henkel Corp. (2014) (PDF) (11 pp, 877 K)
- Goldisc Recordings, Inc. (2015) (PDF)(10 pp, 1.9 MB)
- Highway 71/72 Refinery (2015) (PDF)(14 pp, 2.3 MB)
- Industri-Plex (2014) (PDF) (21 pp, 1.6 MB)
- Joslyn Manufacturing & Supply Co. (2012) (PDF) (10 pp, 925 K)
- Kansas City Structural Steel (2015) (PDF)(9 pp, 2 MB)
- Koppers Coke (2012) (PDF) (10 pp, 612 K)
- Lexington County Landfill (2014) (PDF) (8 pp, 784 K)
- Liberty Industrial Finishing (2014) (PDF) (8 pp, 833 K)
- Macalloy Corporation (2012) (PDF) (9 pp, 389 K)
- Murray Smelter (2012) (PDF) (10 pp, 1.0 MB)
- North Penn Area 12 (2014) (PDF) (6 pp, 448 K)
- Northwest Pipe & Casing/Hall Process Company (2015) (PDF)(10 pp, 1.1 MB)
- Pacific Sound Resources (2013) (PDF) (12 pp, 1.3 MB)
- Peterson/Puritan, Inc. (2014) (PDF) (19 pp, 1.3 MB)
- Phoenix-Goodyear Airport Area (2015) (PDF)(18 pp, 968 K)
- PJP Landfill (2016) (PDF)(11 pp, 2.2 MB)
- PMC Groundwater (2014) (PDF) (13 pp, 1.2 MB)
- Raymark Industries, Inc. (2016) (PDF)(9 pp, 1.3 MB)
- Reynolds Metals Company (2015) (PDF)(11 pp, 1.8 MB)
- RSR Corporation (2015) (PDF)(56 pp, 3.7 MB)
- SMS Instruments, Inc. (2014) (PDF) (6 pp, 1.1 MB)
- Solitron Microwave (2012) (PDF) (7 pp, 607 K)
- South Andover (2011) (PDF) (11 pp, 398 K)
- South Bay Asbestos Area (2015) (PDF)(15 pp, 766 K)
- South Point Plant (Updated 2014) (PDF) (15 pp, 1.1 MB)
- Southside Sanitary Landfill (2011) (PDF) (6 pp, 255 K)
- Strother Field Industrial Park (2015) (PDF)(12 pp, 1.4 MB)
- Universal Oil Products (Chemical Division) (2013) (PDF) (11 pp, 1.2 MB)
- Vertac, Inc. (2012) (PDF) (9 pp, 610 K)
- Waste Disposal, Inc. (2014) (PDF) (13 pp, 752 K)
- Wells G&H (2011) (PDF) (9 pp, 285 K)
- Welsbach and General Gas Mantle (2015) (PDF)(10 pp, 1.8 MB)