Institutional controls are designed to reduce or eliminate potential exposure to certain chemicals, prevent activities that may interfere with a response action, and to ensure that "no significant risk" is posed to human health and the environment. Institutional controls take a wide variety of forms, such as easements, restrictive covenants, equitable servitudes, environmental covenants, zoning, building permits, well-drilling prohibitions, contractual agreements (such as permits and consent decrees), and informational devices.

This second edition of Implementing Institutional Controls at Brownfields and Other Contaminated Sites examines the substantial strides that have been made over the past decade to improve regulators' and practitioners' awareness and understanding of institutional control issues. In particular, nearly half the states have now adopted the Uniform Environmental Covenants Act (UECA) since its promulgation as a model state law in 2003.

Now fully updated and significantly expanded, Implementing Institutional Controls at Brownfields and Other Contaminated Sites discusses why UECA is important and how most states are handling institutional control issues, whether they have adopted UECA or not. Other institutional control tools, such as EPA's use of five-year reviews under the federal Superfund law, Land Use Control Implementation Plans, and state and local innovations (such as municipal setting designations in Texas), are also discussed. In addition to the text, extensive supporting materials are included on a CD-ROM that accompanies this volume.