Institutional controls are an increasingly important tool used by the EPA, states, and property owners involved in site cleanup at brownfields, Superfund, RCRA corrective action, and state voluntary cleanup sites. They are often invaluable in getting property back into productive reuse that benefits the economic and esthetic well being of communities. This is particularly true for sites that were contaminated from years of industrial use and where restoration to “unrestricted use” will, in most cases, be impracticable. With properly designed and implemented institutional controls in conjunction with a risk-based cleanup, sites can be made safe for designated uses (e.g., commercial or industrial properties). In its recently passed brownfield law, Congress recognized the important role of institutional controls in site redevelopment.

Institutional controls (ICs) are designed to control or eliminate potential exposure to contamination, and prevent activities on the real property that might interfere with the final remedy. ICs are usually legal restrictions placed on real property to prevent potentially harmful exposure to site contamination. These restrictions can include proprietary controls (deed restrictions and easements) and state and local government controls (building permits, zoning restrictions). ICs may also include continued remedial obligations such as maintaining the integrity of a landfill cap, or periodic sampling and monitoring of groundwater wells. ...

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