Impacts of Hazardous Waste Cleanups on Housing Prices and Neighborhood Change ∗

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) manages cleanup of hazardous waste releases at over 3,500 sites across the US, which covers approximately 17.5% of all developed land in the country. This paper evaluates the housing market impacts of cleanups performed under RCRA by estimating the program’s impacts on the distribution of housing prices. We find that cleanups near residential properties yield significant, yet localized, increases in home prices, and that impacts are concentrated in lower deciles of the price distribution. We find no evidence of sorting along socio-demographic dimensions in response to cleanup. Our findings suggest that cleanups could correct pre-existing disparities in exposure to contaminated water. ∗The authors would like to thank Nicolai Kuminoff and Amanda Ross for valuable feedback. †Cassidy: Department of Economics, Finance, & Legal Studies, University of Alabama, 246 Alston Hall, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, awcassidy1@cba.ua.edu. ‡Hill: Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, 265 Crittenden Blvd., Box 420644, Rochester, NY 14642, elaine hill@urmc.rochester.edu. §Ma: Department of Economics, Gatton College of Business and Economics, University of Kentucky, Business & Economics Building, Lexington, KY 40506, lala.ma@uky.edu.