With an estimated 450,000 brownfield properties in the U.S., cities and towns across the country are looking for ways to stimulate cleanup and find beneficial reuse for these sites. As the demand to address brownfields in our communities grows, the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing funding to support environmental assessment and cleanup efforts.
A little background
Brownfields are properties in which the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant,
or contaminant complicates the site’s future use. Brownfield sites can include properties such as old factories, industrial sites, dry cleaners, gas stations, or old buildings with asbestos and lead-based paint concerns. Locations
like these may result in an economic development downturn and can become community “eye sores” and safety hazards. Since 1995, the EPA has implemented efforts to address these contaminated properties through its Brownfields Program, which offers a variety of grants and loans for assessment, cleanup, and training programs for impacted communities.
What’s new in brownfield funding for 2022?
The EPA has offered $68 million in grants to fund brownfield assessment and cleanup. Communities, states, tribes, and others impacted by brownfields can apply for this assistance. You can review the EPA’s qualification guidelines and application
requirements on their website.
If qualified, be sure to submit your application by the December 1, 2021 deadline.
The
available brownfield grants include:
Additional brownfield resources
- EPA is hosting two webinars to discuss the
2022 fiscal year grant guidelines. The first webinar will be held on October 13th at 11:00 am MT and will review guidelines for entities applying for:
- Community-Assessment Grant funding
- Site-specific Assessment Grant funding
- Cleanup Grant funding
- RLF Grant funding
The second webinar will be held on October 14th at 12:00 pm MT and will discuss guidelines for States and Tribes applying for Community-wide Assessment Grants.
- The BUILD Act (enacted in 2018) can also be used for spurring
economic development by providing tax-based incentives to developers.
- The EPA offers free brownfield training and resources (such as tools for grant writing) through Technical Assistance to Brownfield (TAB) Communities Programs.
- Additional Technical Assistance to Brownfields such as grant writing review and assistance, and educational workshops/materials, the following entities can be contacted:
- For more hands-on training, community representatives can attend the National Brownfields Training Conference (postponed
until 2022). Attendees will have the opportunity to interact with stakeholders and other community representatives to learn about brownfield challenges and opportunities for revitalization and spurring economic development in your community.
Interested in additional information? Contact us!