United States
                         Environmental
                         Protection Agency
                         Washington, D.C. 20460
   Solid Waste
   and Emergency
   Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-97-089
April 1997
                        Archival  of CERCLIS  Sites
  Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101)
                    Quick Reference Fact Sheet
  EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower States, communities, and other
  stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent,       safely clean up,
  and sustainably reuse brownfields,  A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived
  contamination and an active potential for redevelopment or reuse,  EPA's Brownfields Initiative strategies include
  funding pilot programs and other research efforts, clarifying liability issues, entering into partnerships, conducting
  outreach activities, developing job training programs, and addressing environmental justice concerns.
OVERVIEW

As part of the Brownfields Economic Redevelopment
Initiative to encourage cities, States, and private
investors to clean up and redevelop contaminated or
formerly contaminated sites, EPA has removed
approximately 30.000 sites from the  Superfund site
tracking system known  as the  Comprehensive
Environmental Response. Compensation and Liability
Information System (CERCLIS).  These sites have
been placed in an archive database to retain historical
information collected by EPA's Superfund program.

IMPACT OF CERCLIS LISTING

All sites reported to EPA as potential Superftind
candidates are entered into CERCLIS. Historically,
EPA maintained information about these sites in the
CERCLIS inventor}- regardless of their status, in-
cluding sites where it was determined that no further
Federal Superfund interest was warranted. This prac-
tice led to unintended barriers to the redevelopment
of these properties specifically because sites listed in
CERCLIS are often automatically considered risky
by the lending industry, making it difficult for poten-
tial purchasers to secure loans to develop these prop-
erties.  As  a result, potential developers may shy
away from these properties simply because they are
in listed in CERCLIS.
ACTIONS

EPAhas identified and archived approximately 3 0,000
sites from CERCLIS that have been evaluated and
determined not to be appropriate for listing on
Superfund's National Priorities List (NPL).  Sites
chosen for the archive include sites where, following
initial investigation, no contamination was found,
contamination was removed quickly without the site
needing to be  placed on the NPL, or the contamina-
tion was not serious enough to warrant Federal action
so the site was referred to the State.

EPA transfers information on archived sites to the
States. The States coordinate with EPA to determine
if a site should be returned to CERCLIS because of
newly identified contamination problems.  In  July
1995, EPA sent a letter to 200 mayors with an
attached list of sites in their cities that EPA had
archived.  EPA will continually review CERCLIS,
and plans to archive an additional 1,000 sites per year
over the next several years.

Archiving sites from CERCLIS is one step in freeing
them for redevelopment.  EPA plans to take further
steps to encourage revitalization of these properties
by:

•  Improving access to  information on  the
  investigations conducted at these sites that resulted
  in the decision that no further Federal Superfund
  action was necessary; and

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* Identifying tools to remove  liability  barriers to   CONTACTS
  cleanup for economic redevelopment.
                                                 To obtain a list of archived sites, call the National
RESULTS                                          Technical Information Service (NTIS) at (703) 487-
                                                 4650.
The Agency is beginning to see results from its efforts
at the  Brownfields Pilot in Buffalo. NY.  After   For more information,  call the RCRA/Supcrfund
removing aformer Republic Steel site from CERCLIS,   Hotline at (800) 424-9346.
ATOM Corporation, partnering with Village Farms
of Buffalo, agreed to clean up a portion of the site in
1997 for dedicated use as a 25-acre hydroponic
tomato farm.  This new business  will employ ap-
proximately 300 workers in the immediate area.
 Brownfields Fact Sheet                                                      Archival of CERCLIS Sites
 April 1997                                                                      EPA 500-F-97-089

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