Nearly thirty years after creation of the most advanced and expensive hazardous waste cleanup infrastructure in the world, this book provides a much-needed lens through which the Superfund program should be assessed and reshaped. Focusing on the lessons of adaptive management, it explores new concepts and tools for the cleanup and reuse of contaminated sites, and for dealing with the uncertainty inherent in long-term site stewardship.

There is currently no clear strategy for dealing with large-scale contamination projects without causing obstacles to dealing with small-scale ones (brownfields). Following the Love Canal incident, CERCLA, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (or Superfund) was legislated, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was authorized to clean up contamination from past disposal practices that pose risks to human health or the environment. It is estimated that at least 200,000-500,000 sites (brownfields) in the United States contain polluted soil or groundwater that may require remediation to overcome the negative effects of past industrial operations. The book aims to evaluate the program's ability to cope with the uncertainties at large contaminated sites while still being able to achieve flexibility for the redevelopment of comparatively smaller parcels.