"The Revitalization Handbook - Addressing Liability Concerns at Contaminated Properties" (2020 Edition) ("The Revitalization Handbook") summarizes the federal statutory provisions and the EPA cleanup enforcement documents that address the potential liability concerns of parties involved in the cleanup and revitalization of contaminated sites. It is designed for use by parties involved in the assessment, cleanup, and revitalization of sites, and provides a basic description of the tools that may be available to address liability concerns associated with several environmental statutes. Issued June 2020.

The 2020 edition updates the handbook published in December 2019 to include information related to the June 2020 Superfund Liability Protections for Local Government Acquisitions after the Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development Act of 2018 ("Local Government Acquisition Guidance") and the January 2020 Use of the "Look-First" Approach in Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act Settlement Agreements Involving Third Parties (“ ‘Look First’ Memorandum”). The Local Government Acquisition Guidance and the “Look First” Memorandum were developed pursuant the Superfund Task Force recommendations, but issued after the 2019 edition of the Revitalization Handbook.

The Revitalization Handbook discusses initiatives and documents addressing the statutory protections under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, commonly known as Superfund)  and the potential liability concerns under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

• The Revitalization Handbook: Addressing Liability Concerns at Contaminated Properties (2020 Edition) (PDF)(46 pp, 4 MB)