Funding available for brownfields technical assistance, research

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced requests for applications for $57 million in funding that is available for two new brownfields technical assistance opportunities: one for new Brownfields Technical Assistance and Research cooperative agreements and another for Technical Assistance to Brownfields communities. Both grant funding opportunities will help provide technical assistance for the expansion of community-driven planning for assessment, cleanup and reuse of brownfield sites across the country while creating good-paying jobs and supporting local economies.

The grants are funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which included $1.5 billion to scale up community-led brownfields cleanup and revitalization.

“We know that technical assistance is a huge priority for communities and local governments overburdened with environmental challenges,” says Carlton Waterhouse, EPA deputy assistant administrator for the Office of Land and Emergency Management. “So, beyond our grant tools, we’re significantly expanding our technical assistance to communities and stakeholders at no cost, specifically targeting communities who have not yet benefited from EPA brownfields investments. With this funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we will remove longstanding barriers to brownfields reuse and spur new redevelopment to transform communities into sustainable and environmentally just places.”

EPA is seeking request for applications to award five new Brownfields Technical Assistance and Research cooperative agreements, where each selected provider will do one of the following activities:

1. provide nationwide technical assistance for brownfields revolving loan fund programs;
2. provide technical assistance to nonprofits seeking to reuse brownfields;
3. provide technical assistance to local government leaders on developing and/or operating brownfields programs within their jurisdictions;
4. provide research, technical assistance and related outreach on minimizing displacement resulting from brownfields assessment, cleanup and reuse; or
5. provide research, technical assistance and related outreach on land banking approaches for brownfields revitalization.

Applicants can apply for multiple activities, according to a news release issued by the EPA.

The awards will range from $500,000 to $1 million, depending on the subject area of focus, for an approximate total of $4 million. The period of performance will be four years.

EPA will host an outreach webinar for prospective applicants Dec. 8 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. EST. No advance registration is required. Those interested can join via Zoom. 

The second funding opportunity EPA is seeking request for applications for is $5 million in grants to provide training and technical assistance to communities across the country through the Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) Program. EPA will award a total of $5 million over a five-year period of performance for each geographical region that corresponds to EPA’s 10 Regions and $3 million for nationwide support for a total of $53 million across five years.

For the technical assistance providers conducting research on behalf of EPA’s Brownfields Program, the period of performance will be five years and the award will be up to $500,000.

The existing TAB program is funded by EPA and available to all stakeholders at no cost to communities. TAB providers serve as an independent resource and can provide specialized technical knowledge, research and training to help stakeholders understand the complex brownfields-related subject matter and guide them through the brownfield assessment, cleanup and revitalization process, the EPA says.

Additional technical assistance is provided to brownfields communities on the integration of environmental justice and equitable development when developing solutions to brownfields cleanup and revitalization challenges via Groundwork USA. Groundwork USA provides nationwide technical assistance to coach and train brownfields communities on a variety of innovative and effective community engagement approaches to promote brownfields revitalization that supports uses that all community members can enjoy and from which they can benefit.

EPA will host an outreach webinar for prospective TAB applicants Dec. 7 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. EST. No advance registration is required. Those interested can join via Zoom. 

Applications for both funding opportunities are due by Feb. 14, 2023, via grants.gov. The request for application notices are now posted on the FY2023 Application Resources for Brownfields Technical Assistance page.