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:New Brighton Corporate Park III, on the former MacGillis & Gibbs Superfund site, is one of the leading examples of mixed-use Superfund redevelopment in the nation, employing 550 people and generating $1.2 million annually in property taxes. [2010]New Brighton Corporate Park III, on the former MacGillis & Gibbs Superfund site, is one of the leading examples of mixed-use Superfund redevelopment in the nation, employing 550 people and generating $1.2 million annually in property taxes. [2010]

  • 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:

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 
Reuse for which 
Economic Data has 
been Collected

Number of 
Businesses

Annual Sales

Jobs

Annual 
Employment Income

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:

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.

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.

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