Soil Reuse
NEWMOA’s Soil Reuse Workgroup facilitates information sharing and discusses programmatic and policy options. In 2015, the Workgroup initiated the Soil Reuse: State Information Resource to provide a central location for stakeholders to find state-specific information.
In 2011, NEWMOA’s Waste Site Cleanup Program initiated a Project in partnership with NEWMOA’s Solid Waste Program to focus on improving the management of excess soil for reuse in the region. Construction, utility, brownfields, and waste site cleanup projects can generate quantities of excess soil that cannot be reused at the project site and can contain contaminants at levels that are detectable but much below the standards for hazardous waste. The management of these mildly contaminated soils can significantly impact the cost of a construction or remediation project and therefore hinder economic development. The goal of NEWMOA’s Soil Reuse Project is to share information that helps each state develop a framework that:
- Protects human health and the environment
- Provides clarity for utility; construction; other private developers; and municipal, county, and state government agencies
- Develops requirements that are not onerous for states or stakeholders to implement
- Preserves landfill capacity by allowing non-landfill uses, as appropriate
- Promotes cost effective alternatives to landfill disposal
- Advances consistency within the state
- Advances consistency among states in the region, where feasible
