Grants Notice: EPA Brownfields Assessment and Clean Up Grants Now Available

Are you looking for ways to increase home values, create new jobs, and beautify your community? The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wants to help.

The EPA’s Brownfields Program provides grants and technical assistance to communities to thoughtfully assess, safely clean up and sustainably reuse properties that may have hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants present.  Cleaning up and reinvesting in brownfields protects human health and the environment, reduces blight, and takes development pressures off greenspaces and working lands.

Still not sure how this can help your community?  In 2016, an EPA study found that residential property values increased between 5% and 15% after a nearby brownfield was cleaned up.  Some areas also experienced a reduction in crime near recently revitalized brownfields.

Ready to move forward?  Great news, the EPA is currently soliciting applications for the Brownfields grant program.  There are two programs currently open: 1) “assessment” grants and 2) “cleanup” grants.

Assessment grants provide funding for a grant recipient to inventory, characterize, assess, plan, and conduct community engagement related to brownfields sites.  An eligible entity may apply for up to $200,000 to assess a contaminated site.
The EPA expects to distribute over 230 assessment awards for a total of $42 million in program funding.

Cleanup grants provide funding for a grant recipient to carry out cleanup activities at brownfields sites.  An eligible entity may receive up to $200,000 per site.  These funds may be used to address sites contaminated by petroleum and hazardous substances, pollutants, or other contaminants.  Cleanup grants require a 20% cost share for eligible and allowable costs, which may be a contribution of money, labor, materials, or services.

The EPA is expecting to distribute 60 cleanup awards for a total of $12 million in program funding.

The EPA is accepting applications until December 22, 2016.

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