Legacy pollution is the remnants of heavy metals and chemicals – lead, mercury and PCBs – used or produced by American industry in the 1940s and 50s. Back then, nobody knew about the lasting harmful impacts of these pollutants, and the industry standards reflected that. Importantly, legacy pollution disproportionately affects black, brown and other historically underserved communities.
Legacy pollution is being addressed through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) by investing $21 billion in Superfund and brownfield site cleanup, reclaiming abandoned mine lands and capping orphaned gas and oil wells. The funding gives state and local governments the opportunity to reduce the effects of legacy pollution, improve public health and promote environmental justice for communities of color.
This section includes the reauthorized legacy pollution program in the Infrastructure Deal, and the relative speed at which local governments can expect to see the money for these types of projects.
It also includes case studies from state and local governments who have successfully implemented and maintained legacy pollution cleanup projects in their communities. We chose case studies that reflect the goals outlined in the legislation.
Congress included several funding mechanisms for legacy pollution in IIJA. How quickly state and local governments will see funding for addressing legacy pollution depends on the funding mechanisms outlined in the law.
The legacy pollution program in IIJA most relevant to state and local governments is the Brownfield Remediation Program. State and local governments should see money relatively quickly through this reauthorized grant program that is receiving additional funding as a part of IIJA:
The Infrastructure Deal includes $16 billion for legacy pollution cleanup, specifically:
While the extensive federal agency rule-making processes are underway, state and local government leaders are starting the preparatory work to best position their communities to receive as much funding as possible. An influx of federal money this size demands state and local government leaders think big about the projects they can pursue in their communities and the impacts they can achieve.
In this section, we’ve compiled a list of inspiring legacy pollution case studies from state and local governments who have achieved goals similar to ones outlined in IIJA.
Our hope is that they inspire state and local government leaders to consider all colors of money for legacy pollution cleanup and serve as models for impactful legacy pollution projects to put forward for IIJA funding.
Growing industrialization near the Gowanus Canal has polluted the soil and canal bed, resulting in toxic levels of pollutants in the water. New York’s combined sewer system empties into the Gowanus as well, making it one of the most polluted bodies of water in the country. After being marked as a ‘Superfund’ site by the EPA, the city developed a small park coined the “Sponge Park,” that slows, absorbs and filters surface water runoff through constructed wetlands.
Abandoned mine reclamation work by Montana’s Department of Environmental Quality transformed Soda Butte Creek from the most polluted stream entering Yellowstone National Park to become Montana’s first water body delisted from the Clean Water Act.
As a former military site, Nansemond Ordnance Depot required significant cleanup to remedy soil contamination. The 30+ year effort, which yielded the removal of over 6,200 munitions, is almost complete with commercial and residential development planned for the waterfront property along with public access trails.
To properly develop its Canal Park commercial business district, the city of Duluth needed to address the brownfield that had been left untouched for several years. With the help of local non-profit and entrepreneurs, the city was able to clean up the land and redevelop it into a brewery and walking path.
We hope these case studies inspire you and demonstrate the scale and type of community impacts that are possible with the legacy pollution investments included in IIJA. Want to see more? Browse legacy pollution case studies in The Atlas case study database.
Explore the rest of the handbook.
Author’s Note: Rachel Angulo (Content Marketing Manager at The Atlas) provided writing and research support to this section. Mark Funkhouser (Former Mayor of Kansas City, MO), Shalini Vajjhala (Executive Director of the San Diego Regional Policy & Innovation Center) and Erik Caldwell (Director of Data Strategy at The Atlas and former Deputy Chief Operating Officer at the City of San Diego) generously reviewed this section.
