The Brownfields and Land Revitalization Technology Support Center
Provided by the U.S. EPA, Argonne National Laboratory, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Helping Decision-makers

If traditional site assessment and cleanup approaches are too time-consuming and expensive to support the development of your brownfields site, the BTSC may be able to help you.

Direct support is available to:

• State & local governments and tribes
• Brownfields Grantees
• EPA Regional Coordinators
• EPA Remedial Project Managers
• EPA On-Scene Coordinators
• Other EPA Regional staff

Information about site investigation and cleanup activities is available to all brownfields stakeholders, including:

• Real estate professionals, developers, financial institutions, and other private redevelopment interests
• Engineers, consultants, and other private remediation professionals
• Potentially responsible parties
• Affected communities
• Members of the public

See the fact sheet (PDF, 4 pages) for additional information about how the BTSC can help decision-makers.

Learn more about us, our partners, and our services.

The Brownfields and Land Revitalization Technology Support Center (BTSC, formerly the Brownfields Technology Support Center) is a cooperative effort to provide technical support to federal, state, local, and tribal officials for questions related to the use of innovative technologies and strategies for site assessment and cleanup.

EPA created the BTSC in 1998 to help decision-makers:

• Evaluate strategies to streamline the site investigation and cleanup process
• Identify and review information about complex technology options
• Evaluate contractor capabilities and recommendations
• Explain complex technologies to communities

Partners in the BTSC include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) and Office of Research and Development (ORD); the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and Argonne National Laboratory. As a Center partner, EPA’s Brownfields Program helps to identify support needed by EPA’s Brownfields Program participants.

Overview of Accomplishments
Since its creation in 1998, the BTSC has provided information to hundreds of stakeholders, direct site support to more than 70 sites, and helped increase awareness and use of innovative technologies and techniques for investigation and remediation of contaminated sites. Through direct support, the development of publications and other technology transfer activities, the BTSC is helping to advance the efficient cleanup and redevelopment of sites nationwide.

Learn more about us by visiting the accomplishments page.

EPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response
EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) provides policy, guidance, and direction for the land disposal of hazardous wastes, underground storage tanks, solid waste management, encouragement of innovative technologies, source reduction of wastes, and management of the Superfund Program. OSWER's priorities include the following:

• Land revitalization, and making property reuse an important part of all cleanup activities
• Enhancing counter-terrorism
• Better integrating information
• Reducing waste and recovering energy
• Campaigning against waste
• Workforce development and succession planning

OSWER's goal for revitalization is to broadly promote the lessons learned by the Brownfields program and how revitalization can complement traditional cleanup programs and lead to faster cleanups. Several offices within OSWER are helping EPA achieve this goal.

EPA Office of Research and Development
EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) is the principal scientific research arm of EPA. ORD is organized into three national laboratories and two national centers, and conducts research and fosters the use of science and technology in fulfilling EPA's mission. Technology Support Center services include site-specific assistance in the areas of Superfund, RCRA, and Brownfields; technology transfer activities; technical assistance; development and testing of management techniques; and the development of training courses.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) manages engineering, construction, and real estate programs for various federal agencies. USACE is a partner with EPA and other federal agencies in helping communities prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. USACE has established a network of brownfields specialists throughout the country, and provides assistance through the Hazardous, Toxic and Radioactive Waste Center of Expertise (HTRW); the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Environmental Lab at Waterways Experiment Station (ERDC-WES); and the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL). USACE is also involved in revitalization efforts at BRAC sites and Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS).

USACE provides technical assistance to communities for the assessment and evaluation of sites. USACE expertise enables it to help communities address various challenges related to revitalization, such as:

• Obtain site assessment services and funds
• Develop integrated plans to promote comprehensive community enhancements
• Provide technical solutions for site assessment and restoration issues

Argonne National Laboratory
The Argonne National Laboratory is a multi-disciplinary research and development laboratory focused on basic science, nuclear and non-nuclear energy science and technologies, national security, and environmental matters. In the environmental area, Argonne's activities range from studies of fundamental contaminant behavior to risk management associated with cleanup and site long-term stewardship. Argonne assists several federal agencies with environmental technical support in the areas of characterization, process systems and engineering, and integrated management. Argonne assists the EPA's BTSC in the application of its Triad approach to sampling and analysis to manage site decision uncertainty.

Specific services provided by Argonne include:

• Review of plans for investigations
• Assistance in preparing site assessment plans and strategies
• Assistance in selecting and deploying technologies and methodologies for investigations of soil and groundwater contamination

EPA Office of Brownfields Cleanup and Redevelopment
EPA's Office of Brownfields Cleanup and Redevelopment (OBCR) empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. EPA is funding assessment demonstration pilot programs to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup and redevelopment models; job training pilot programs to provide training for residents of communities affected by brownfields to facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and prepare trainees for future employment in the environmental field; and cleanup revolving loan fund programs to capitalize loan funds for the environmental cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs are intended to provide EPA, states, tribes, municipalities, and communities with useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods to promote a unified approach to site assessment, environmental cleanup, and redevelopment.

Brownfields stakeholders involved in the selection and use of technologies for environmental cleanup can visit OBCR's Web site to learn more about the brownfields grant programs that are available. The BTSC works closely with OBCR and can provide direct technical assistance to communities that participate in OBCR's initiatives and grant programs.

Click Show Site Map in the page header to view links to each of the main pages.

This site provides an overview of the services and support provided by the BTSC, including news, publications, and other technical information for Brownfields stakeholders. Descriptions of each of the major pages are provided below.

Provides an online form for submitting comments to the BTSC. Lists contact information and points of contact for BTSC techncial services, state brownfields programs, and EPA regional brownfields offices. Provides information about federal agencies that may be able to provide technical assistance in the selection and use of technologies to characterize and clean up properties for land revitalization and reuse.

Explains the specific types of services that the BTSC offers to local and state government personnel, EPA staff, tribes, and nonprofits with active EPA Brownfields Cleanup Grants. The BTSC invites users to submit requests for information and support services through the online forms available from this page. This page also provides details about the eligibility requirements for those services. Includes news from EPA and information and links to upcoming and recent events. Lists publications, online resources, and Web sites related to the services provided by the BTSC. This page also provides an online glossary and acronym list. Older resources that may remain useful to the brownfields community (for example, presentations from past conferences) are available from the archive section of this page. Makes available resources and examples that explain concerns about procuring support for implementation of innovative technologies and strategies. Summarizes results of the operations of the BTSC, including annual and quarterly reports. Offers a wide range of search criteria to find useful information about BTSC projects, techncial staff, and resources.