Over time, the focus of environmental cleanups has shifted from full remediation of contaminated land to the establishment of cleanup standards based upon the current or next anticipated land use. This trend applies equally to federal facilities, brownfields, and private Superfund sites. To ensure the health and safety of local citizens and the environment, land-use-based cleanups require additional, long-term controls on property use. These mechanisms, known as land use controls, were originally designed to control the sale and use of private property interests.

A distinction between engineering controls (ECs) and institutional controls (ICs) should be made. Taken together, ECs and ICs can be referred to as land use controls (LUCs). ECs encompass a variety of engineered remedies to contain and/or reduce contamination, and/or physical barriers intended to limit access to property. Some examples of ECs include fences, signs or guards. In contrast, ICs are a variety of legal devices imposed to ensure that the ECs stay in place or, where there are no ECs, to ensure the restrictions on land use stay in place. Some examples of ICs include zoning, affirmative and restrictive covenants, notices (in deeds, newspapers, etc.) or permits.