The Environmental Protection Agency defines a ______ as "real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant".

• A. Brownfield
• B. Superfund site
• C. Hazardous waste facility
• D. Landfill

Answer: (A)

This term describes real property whose expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. That definition captures the common situation where a site sits idle or underused because cleanup, liability, or regulatory hurdles add risk and cost to redevelopment. The focus is on the redevelopment barrier created by contamination, not just the presence of waste itself.

A Superfund site, by contrast, refers to locations prioritized for cleanup under federal law due to severe contamination, often requiring extensive remediation before any redevelopment is considered. A hazardous waste facility is primarily defined by its function—handling, treating, or storing hazardous waste—rather than the redevelopment challenges that contamination can pose. A landfill is a disposal site for waste, again not the redevelopment-impediment concept captured by the term in the question.

So, the term that best fits the EPA’s definition here is brownfield.