Environmental remediation seeks to decrease the amount of contamination located at a property. Residual contamination, however, can remain at the property after the cleanup is completed. If the residual contamination concentrations are low enough, they may pose no risk to humans and the environment regardless of the use of the property. On the other hand, residual contamination concentrations might be high enough to pose an unacceptable risk of exposure for some, but not all, uses of property. In other situations, residual contamination may be isolated by physical means, engineering techniques, or land use restrictions as a way to control the risk of exposure. Perhaps the simplest example of a control method is a fence that cordons off an area, making it inaccessible.

Control methods that utilize non-physical means to restrict the use of property so as to limit the exposure of humans and the environment to contamination are referred to as “institutional controls” (ICs).1 The most common ICs currently employed are environmental easements, deed restrictions, and environmental notices. ICs can minimize the potential for exposure to contamination, protect engineered remedies to restrict exposure, and provide appropriate notice of the residual contamination to those individuals who may be impacted by the contamination.

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