If you are a local government (for example, a city, county or land bank) planning to renovate or demolish residential buildings, you must comply with various environmental regulations. This website provides an overview of these requirements. You should also consider implementing good practices to further protect public health and the environment.

Requirements and Good Practices

• What regulations apply to a large-scale residential demolition project? The answer is: it depends. There are federal environmental regulations and there may also be state or local regulations that apply to your project.
• Requirements can vary by location or depend on the details of your project, so you may need to investigate further to identify the specific federal requirements that apply to your project, e.g., Harmful Materials and Residential Demolition or Managing Stormwater and Dust at Demolition Sites.
• Don’t assume that because you hire contractors or issue grants for the work, that you are not responsible for compliance with federal environmental regulations. You may be held responsible for the failure of a contractor or grantee to comply with federal regulations.
• Good environmental practices help protect from the effects of demolition both human health (i.e., of the demolition workers, waste handlers and local residents) and the environment, resulting in a more sustainable community.