Brownfields are underutilized properties complicated by hazardous substances, which can serve as economic engines and community spaces once cleaned. The document outlines grant funding opportunities for assessment, cleanup, and workforce development, emphasizing community involvement and strategic planning. Studies show that addressing brownfields can increase nearby property values and generate significant local tax revenue, making proper proposals essential for successful project execution.

1. Brownfields
A Diamond in the Rough

2. What are Brownfields?
“…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.”
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 Blighted, abandoned, derelict
property
 Contaminated property
 Property that everyone
believes is contaminated
 Fear of environmental liability
■ An economic engine
■ A jobs magnet
■ A new community gateway
■ A public gathering spot
Bush’s Recycling Florence, SC before and now: health clinic

3. Perception:
If it looks blighted, it’s going to be expensive to cleanup and
redevelop.

4. Perception:
If it looks blighted, it’s going to be expensive to cleanup and
redevelop.
Reality:
About 30% of the properties our grantees
assess do not require cleanup.

5. Perception:
If it looks blighted, it’s going to be expensive to cleanup and
redevelop.
Reality:
About 30% of the properties our grantees
assess do not require cleanup.
Reality:
Not all cleanups are as expensive as you might think.

6. 0
0-300
300-1000
1K-5000
5K-10000
10K-50000
50K-100000
100000+
Tons
Remediated
Source: Georgia Department of Natural Resources
How Big is a Typical Soil Cleanup?
63%18%
6%
4%
3%
2% 2% 2%

7. Brownfield Grant Types (3 years unless otherwise noted)
• Assessment ($400k max or $600k for coalitions)
• Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) ($800k-1M, 5-15 years)
• Cleanup (now up to $500k per parcel)
• Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training ($200k)
• Multi-Purpose ($800,000, 5 years)
Also Available:
Targeted Brownfields Assessments (not a grant)
Some States/Tribes offer assistance through their EPA 128a grant

8. This Year’s Grant Rotations
• Multi-Purpose Grant
• Now: “MAC” grants (Multi-purpose, Assessment, Cleanup – for FY19, no RLF until
2020); open in early November, 2018
• Job Training: solicitation in 2019, funded with 2020 funds (going to every
other year)
• RLF: every other year; next in 2020

9. • Hazardous Substances
• Petroleum Contamination
• Asbestos & Lead Based Paint are eligible
• Controlled Substances (e.g., Meth labs)
• Mine-Scarred Lands
• Other environmental contaminants

10. • Community-wide
• Site-specific (single site)
• Assessment Coalition
Grants
To inventory, characterize, assess, and conduct planning and
community involvement related to brownfields sites.

11. • Up to $200K per property (parceling is an option)
• Must own site at time of application
• Hazardous substances or petroleum contamination
• May apply for up to 3 properties: Separate proposals for each property
• Non-profits may apply
• Cost share requirement of 20% (May request a hardship waiver)
• Phase II must be completed (Threshold Criteria)
• Analysis of Brownfields Cleanup Alternatives (ABCA) must be included
To carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites

12. • Up to $1M per eligible
entity
• Coalitions may apply
• (Maximum) 50/50% loan
to subgrant ratio (may
request a waiver)
• Cost share requirement
of 20%
• Nonprofit organizations
are not eligible to apply
To make low interest loans to carry out cleanup activities at
brownfields properties

13. • Targets unemployed
and underemployed
individuals
• 3 Year Grants
• $200,000
To provide full-time, sustainable employment in various aspects of hazardous and solid
waste management

14. Multi-Purpose
• Assessment & Cleanup in one grant
• Does not need to be the same sites
• 5 year, $500,000 max; $200,000 must be spent on cleanup
New for FY19!

15. • Local Governments
• Land Clearance Authorities/Quasi-Governmental Entities
Under Local Governmental Control
• State Legislated Government Entities
• Regional Councils of Government or Group of Local
Governments
• Redevelopment Agency (State Chartered/Sanctioned)
• States
• Tribes
• Nonprofits

16. EPA Grantee Accomplishments
Accomplishment EPA Region
4 FY18
EPA
Region 4
Since 1995
National
Cumulative
Assessment complete 329 3,987 28,629
Cleanups complete 14 120
Dollars Leveraged $291 Million $5.9 Billion $26.4 Billion
Jobs Leveraged 1,687 21,434 138,643
Acres Ready for Reuse 1031 23,627
Properties Ready for
Reuse
150 939 76,119
● $17 leveraged for each
grant dollar spent
● 9 jobs created for every
$100,000 grant dollar spent
A 2017 study concluded that cleaning
up brownfield properties led to
residential property value increases
of 5 - 15.2% within 1.29 miles of the
sites.1 Analyzing data near 48 of those
brownfields, another study found an
estimated $29 to $97 million in
additional tax revenue for local
governments in a single year after
cleanup—2 to 7 times more than the
$12.4 million EPA contributed to the
cleanup of those brownfields.2
2. Sullivan, K. 2017. Brownfields Remediation: Impact of Local Residential Property Tax Revenue1 Haninger, K., L. Ma, and C. Timmins. 2017. The Value of Brownfield Remediation. Journal of
the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists 4(1): 197-241.

17. So, You want a Brownfield Grant?
Good proposals begin with applicants who are well positioned for success.
Some things to think about before you apply:
Who will champion your project?
Do you have a vision for your community?
Have you involved your community?
Do you have political support?
Can you get access to properties you want to assess?
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18. Identify Your Project Manager
 A dedicated energetic PM
is often the difference
between a successful or
unsuccessful community.
 Key Questions:
• Clear decision-making authority
• Retained for 3-5 yrs
• Driven / high energy
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19. Put Together a Brownfields Team
 Political Leaders
 Local Government Planners
 Community Leaders
 Local Environmental Consultants
 Developers
 State/EPA
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20. Identify Your Project Area
 Single site
 Main street
 City-wide
 Catalyst properties
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21. Involve Your Targeted Community
• Education
• Identify concerns
• Keep informed
• Involve the Property
Owners!!
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22. Develop Your Vision for Project Area
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• Begin building support
• Identify financial interest
• Motivate community groups
• Develop funding proposals

23. Start Identifying Brownfields
Develop an Inventory of
Brownfields Sites and
an Approach to
Prioritize sites.
Priorities may include:
 Community Concerns
 Health Hazards
 Potential for Redevelopment
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Site Name Site Address Owner
Former Plaza
Cleaners
111 Market Lane John Doe
ABC Oil 1 Main Street Bob Smith

24. EPA Grant Program Type of EPA Assistance/Grants
Website
Environmental Justice Support and empower communities as they
develop and implement solutions that significantly
address environmental and/or public health issues
at the local level.
https://www.epa.gov/grants/open-
announcements-competitive-grant-
opportunities
Urban Waters Support to communities make water quality
restoration relevant to public health, social,
economic, and livability goals.
https://www.epa.gov/urbanwaters/urban-
waters-small-grants
Brownfields • Assessment
• Cleanup
• Revolving Loan Fund (RLF)
• Area Wide Planning (AWP)
• Employment Workforce Development and
Job Training Grant (EWDJTG)
• Targeted Brownfield Assessment (TBA)
• Technical Assistance through:
Technical Assistance for Brownfields
(TAB) - CCLR
Groundwork USA
Council of Development Finance
Agencies (CDFA)
https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/types-
brownfields-grant-funding
https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfield
s-technical-assistance
http://www.cclr.org/technical-assistance
http://groundworkusa.org/
http://www.cdfa.net/
Partnership for Sustainable
Communities / Smart Growth
Technical Assistance - Local Foods, Local Places,
Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities
https://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/smart-
growth-technical-assistance-programs
EPA Grant Funding and Technical Assistance

25. • The target audience is municipal officials interested in
facilitating the cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated
properties.
• The workbook may also be useful to tribes, county and state
governments, and quasi-governmental entities such as
economic development corporations.
• PREPARED (Process for Risk Evaluation, Property Analysis
and Reuse Decisions) is a risk management based approach to
help municipalities evaluate potential property recovery actions
for specific properties.
• https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-
04/documents/munimanual.pdf
PREPARED WORKBOOK
Process for Risk Evaluation, Property Analysis and Reuse
Decisions

26. • Document is designed to help local governments overcome
obstacles and encourage infill development, particularly in
distressed communities.
• Document presents 30 strategies into two main categories:
foundation and funding.
• Strategies in the foundation category refer to critical steps a
jurisdiction can take to make infill development more feasible, such
as establishing priorities, policies, and partnerships, and changing
public perceptions. they dedicate time, energy, and resources.
• Strategies in the funding category include some common and
innovative federal, state, and local programs and strategies that can
fund infill and infrastructure.
• https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-
05/documents/fresno_final_report_042215_508_final.pdf
ATTRACTING INFILL DEVELOPMENT IN DISTRESSED
COMMUNITIES: 30 STRATEGIES

27. • Provides guidance and technical assistance to localities and
brownfields practitioners on leveraging resources for
brownfields revitalization.
• This guide explores how communities can prepare to
successfully leverage funding and other resources for
brownfields revitalization.
• It focuses primarily on what communities can do before they
solicit funding to organize themselves and make the
preparations necessary for mounting a successful leveraging
effort.
• https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-
04/documents/final_leveraging_guide_document_4-19-16.pdf
Setting the Stage for Leveraging Resources for Brownfields
Revitalization