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Introduction

Ecological reuse returns polluted or otherwise disturbed lands to a functioning and sustainable use by increasing or improving habitat for plants and animals. "Ecological land reuse" is a broad term that encompasses a number of interrelated activities including the reconstruction of antecedent physical conditions, chemical adjustment of the soil and water, and biological manipulation which includes the reintroduction of native flora and fauna. EPA promotes land reuse programs that consider the inextricable links between all life forms and all media within an ecosystem rather than an isolated manipulation of individual elements. Reuse of contaminated sites, when based on ecological principles, can complement traditional remediation activities that ensure the protection of human health and the environment, in addition to creating habitat. Ecological land reuse can be a cost-effective way to create or incorporate habitats as natural remediation tools that are part of the cleanup process for contaminated sites.

EcoTools Spotlight

NARPM 2010, Crystal City, Arlington, VA, May 24-28, 2010.
Ecological Revitalization session scheduled for May 24, 2010 from 1:30 to 5:00 PM. For more information, links and featured presentations visit the EcoTools NARPM 2010 page.

EcoTools was recently featured in an EPA Superfund Program News Article. You can read the article here: Ecological Revitalization Turns Contaminated Properties into Community Assets.

The Ecological Revitalization Project Profiles Database contains information about completed and on-going projects where ecological revitalization was involved in solutions to various environmental concerns.

Why restore disturbed or contaminated lands?

Quick Page Links

Why restore disturbed or contaminated lands?
Why are ecosystems important to ecological land reuse?
Archived internet seminars for ecological restoration
Further EPA information and resources on ecological land reuse
Glossary of ecological land reuse terms

Habitat preservation is key to an ecosystem's health and well-being, and there is a growing awareness that restoration is essential to recover ecosystems that have been degraded or destroyed. Furthermore, contaminated or disturbed sites that have been restored are once again available for public use and enjoyment

The public's interest in the renewal of natural ecosystems has grown steadily during the past few decades. EPA's Superfund Redevelopment Program assists communities in returning some of the nation's worst hazardous waste sites to safe and productive uses. While the Agency works to protect human health and the environment, EPA also works with communities and other partners to consider future uses for restored Superfund sites. Many sites are now being used as parkland, agricultural land, residences and commercial space.

Ecological reuse can be incorporated into site remediation plans for Superfund sites because it provides habitat for wildlife and is not considered beautification or enhancement. Returning contaminated sites to beneficial use not only allows local communities to reclaim lost land – it can also lead to increased property values, a higher tax base, and protected open space. In addition, when local interests have a stake in the revitalized property, the chances are greater for continued productive use.

Benefits of Ecological Land Reuse

Provides wildlife habitat
Sequesters carbon
Remediates and beneficially reuses damaged lands
Improves property values
Improves image
Reduces wind and water erosion of contaminants
Protects water resources
Creates green spaces and corridors
Improves the community by removing stigma associated with prior waste sites

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Why are ecosystems important to ecological land reuse?

Project managers seeking to return a contaminated site to a safe and productive use should look not only to the future of the site; but also consider its past structure and function by looking at the site as an ecosystem – a dynamic environment of living organisms and non-living matter intricately connected by energy and nutrient flows.

Many reuse projects focus solely on manipulating certain elements, such as soil, vegetation, and hydrology, with little attention paid to the links between these and the broader landscape and biosphere. Such actions may not necessarily address all of the ecosystem's needs. Other living organisms, such as insects, wildlife, and microorganisms also form an integral part of the system and must be accounted for, if possible, for the system to flourish. For example: many of the native flowering plant species in the United States rely on bees, hummingbirds or other pollinators to help them reproduce and disperse across the landscape. The flowers and the hummingbird have a symbiotic relationship that benefits them both – the flower produces nectar that the hummingbird feeds on, and the hummingbird carries pollen from one flower to the next, allowing it to reproduce. If a degraded site is repopulated with native wildflowers, but no pollinators are introduced into the site, the native plants may die out and be replaced by invasive species. In order to maintain desired levels of native plant diversity, the restoration and reuse process therefore must ensure that an adequate level of pollinator species is present.

Ecosystem-based reuse can be an important aspect of many remediation projects. If the goal is to return a site to a close approximation of its natural, pre-disturbance state, then an ecosystem-based approach is essential. This approach will ensure that the newly restored site once again becomes an integral part of its environment.

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Bunker Hill Superfund Site in Idaho

Bunker Hill Site After

Before and after photographs of the Bunker Hill Superfund Site in Idaho, where contamination was left on-site and capped with biosolids compost and wood ash. A long-term Operations & Maintenace plan was established to ensure that attractive nuisance issues did not exist.

Photographs courtesy of Dr. Sally Brown, University of Washington.

Go to Case Studies Page

Bunker Hill Superfund Site in Idaho before

Bunker Hill Site Before

Archived internet seminars for ecological restoration

Since 1998, CLU-IN has presented Internet Seminars covering a wide variety of technical topics related to hazardous waste characterization, monitoring, and remediation. For each seminar topic, we have selected the highest-quality offering for placement in our archives.

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Further EPA information and resources on ecological land reuse

Ecological Revitalization: Turning Contaminated Properties Into Community Assets. EPA 542-R-08-003. Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. U.S. EPA. February 2009.
This document provides technical information to assist property managers and other stakeholders better understand, coordinate, and conduct ecological revitalization at contaminated properties during cleanup.� Specifically, this document presents general planning and process considerations for ecological revitalization and provides technical considerations for implementing ecological revitalization of wetlands, streams, and terrestrial ecosystems during cleanup. This document also highlights EPA's initiatives and resources that are available, and presents numerous site-specific examples and case studies where ecological revitalization has occurred.

PDF (4.5 MB)

Fact Sheet PDF (220 K)
EPA CLU-IN Ecological Revitalization Fact Sheets:

EPA RCRA Brownfields Prevention Initiative – Ecological/Recreational Resuse of RCRA sites
This site provides information on collaborative activities, resources, and case studies related to sites restored under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and are now being used for ecological and/or recreation activities.
EPA Ecological Restoration web site
Gateway to EPA information and resources on ecological restoration. Links to recommended EPA web pages focused on restoration, organized by topic.
EPA Superfund Redevelopment Program web site
Information on the Superfund Redevelopment Program, including restored sites and their new uses, tools and resources, pilot programs to restore sites, and contact information.
EPA Brownfields and Land Revitalization web site
Basic information on EPA actions and policies surrounding brownfield revitalization, including grants and funding information, tools and resources, and laws and regulations.
U.S. EPA. August 2007. Integrating Water and Waste Programs to Restore Watersheds, A Guide for Federal and State Project Managers. EPA 540K07001, Office of Water and Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC.
This manual is intended for Federal and state project managers in water and waste programs who are working on assessment or cleanup projects in watersheds contaminated by hazardous materials or waste. Intended to enhance coordination across EPA and state waste and water programs by identifying opportunities for streamlining requirements, leveraging resources, and implementing restoration activities more efficiently.
ITRC (Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council). 2004. Making the Case for Ecological Enhancments. ECO-1. Washington, D.C.: Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council and the Wildlife Habitat Council.
White paper and case studies identify benefits, incentives, and limitations for implementing ecological enhancements at environmentally impacted sites.
Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council (ITRC). 2006. Planning and Promoting Ecological Reuse of Remediated Sites. ECO-2. Washington, D.C.: Ecological Land Reuse Team, Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council
Promotes ecological land reuse as an integrated part of site remediation strategies and as an alternative to conventional property development or redevelopment. Describes key decision points in a flow diagram format and defines the practicality of applying natural or green technologies to traditional remediation processes.

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Glossary of ecological land reuse terms

Biodiversity

The variety and variability among living organisms and the ecological complexes in which they occur. Diversity can be defined as the number of different items and their relative frequencies. For biological diversity, these items are organized at many levels, ranging from complete ecosystems to the biochemical structures that are the molecular basis of heredity. Thus, the term encompasses ecosystems, species, and genes.

Compost

A humus or soil-like material created from aerobic, microbial decomposition of organic materials such as food scraps, yard trimmings, and manure. When mature, it is frequently used as a soil amendment because it is rich in nutrients, stable, and safe to use near water sources.

Composting

The biological decomposition process that creates compost. It is frequently used to significantly reduce pathogens in organic waste streams, since the process generates temperatures hot enough to achieve this reduction.

Contaminated Site

Location where microorganisms, chemicals, toxic substances, wastes, or wastewater have been introduced into the water, air, and/or soil in a concentration that makes the site unfit for its intended use.

Creation

The installation of a different kind of ecosystem from that which occurred historically.

[Society for Ecological Restoration International Science & Policy Working Group, 2004.The SER International Primer on Ecological Restoration. www.ser.org & Tucson: Society for Ecological Restoration International.]

Damage

Acute and obvious changes in an ecosystem

Degradation

Subtle or gradual changes that reduce ecological integrity and health.

Ecological Restoration

An intentional activity that initiates or accelerates the recovery of an ecosystem with respect to its health, integrity and sustainability.

Ecological Revitalization

For a contaminated site, such as a Superfund site, it is the process of returning the site to a functioning and sustainable use. Ecological revitalization re-establishes a site to a natural state, thus increasing or improving habitat for plants and animals without impairing the remediation activities that ensure the protection of human health and the environment.

U.S. EPA, 2007. Frequently Asked Questions about Ecological Revitalization of Superfund sites. http://www.clu-in.org/download/remed/542f06002.pdf

Ecosystem

The interacting system of a biological community and its non-living environmental surroundings.

Ecosystem Health

The state or condition of an ecosystem in which its dynamic attributes are expressed within "normal" ranges of activity relative to its ecological stage of development.

Exotic Species

A species that is not indigenous to a region.

Invasive Species

An [exotic] species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.

[Clinton, W.J. 1999 Feb 3. Invasive Species. Executive Order 13112. http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/executive-orders/ ]

Mitigation

Measures taken to reduce adverse impacts on the environment.

Native Plant

A plant that occurs naturally in a particular region, ecosystem, and/or habitat without direct or indirect human actions.

[1994 Memorandum of Understanding that established the Federal Native Plant Conservation Committee (from The Roadside Use of Native Plants).]

Reclamation

An ecological restoration activity where the main objectives include the stabilization of the terrain, assurance of public safety, aesthetic improvement, and usually a return of the land to what, within the regional context, is considered to be a useful purpose.

Recovery

When an ecosystem contains sufficient biotic and abiotic resources to continue its development without further assistance or subsidy.

Reference Ecosystem

A model for planning an ecological restoration project, which later serves in the evaluation of that project.

Replacement

Replacement of an ecosystem that was entirely destroyed with one of the same kind. Common on surface-mined lands and brownfields.

Restoration Ecology

The science upon which the practice of ecological restoration is based.

Revegetation

The process of establishing plants in areas devoid of vegetation.

[www.warnercnr.colostate.edu/class_info/
nr420shinderman/lectures/NR420%20restoration%20ecology.pdf]

Soil Amendments

Residual materials, composted agricultural byproducts, and traditional agricultural fertilizers That, when added to soils, can promote positive changes in chemical, physical and biological properties of the disturbed media.

[U.S. EPA, 2007. Soil Remediation, Revitalization, and Reuse: Technical Performance Measures (TPMs). http://clu-in.org/products/tpm/ ]

Soil Health

The capacity of a soil to be used productively without adversely affecting its future productivity, the ecosystem, and the environment.

[Cornell University Soil Health Team. 2005. Cornell Soil Health Web Site. http://www.hort.cornell.edu/soilhealth/ ]

Soil Organic Carbon

The total organic carbon of a soil exclusive of carbon from undecayed plants and animal residues.

Food and Agriculture Organization. 2007. Global Terrestrial Observing System, Terrestrial Ecosystem Monitoring Sites. http://www.fao.org/gtos/tems/variable_show.jsp?VARIABLE_ID=34 ]

Soil Organic Matter

The living microbes in the soil, partially decayed plant material and microbes, and the stable material formed from decomposed plants and microbes.

[University of Maine Cooperative Extension. Know Your Soil – Bulletin #2288. http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/2288.htm ]

Stressors

Physical, chemical, or biological entities that can induce adverse effects on ecosystems or human health.

Substitution

The use of a replacement ecosystem where an altered environment can no longer support any naturally occurring type of ecosystem in the bioregion.

[Clewell, A. et al. 2005. Society for Ecological Restoration International: Guidelines for Developing and Managing Ecological Restoration Projects, 2nd Edition. www.ser.org ]

Tilth

The state of aggregation of a soil especially in relation to its suitability for crop growth.

[Cumberland County, Maryland, Conservation District. 2007. Biosolid terms. http://www.cumberlandcd.com/ ]

Transformation

The conversion of an ecosystem to a different kind of ecosystem or land use type.

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U.S. EPA Contaminated Site Cleanup Information (CLU-IN)

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Introduction

Why restore disturbed or contaminated lands?

Benefits of Ecological Land Reuse

Why are ecosystems important to ecological land reuse?

Archived internet seminars for ecological restoration

Further EPA information and resources on ecological land reuse

Glossary of ecological land reuse terms