Dave DoolittleThe Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is making $46 million available to support efforts to prevent, inventory, assess, clean up and reuse brownfield sites.
The funds are available through the EPA’s Brownfields Program, which provides technical and financial assistance for brownfield activities that protect human health and the environment, encourage sustainable reuse, promote partnerships and strengthen economies.
States, communities, tribes and nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply. Eligible projects include community engagement and planning at one or more brownfield sites, site assessments, site cleanup planning and direct site cleanup.
The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) closes Nov. 14, 2024.
Since it was established in 1995, the Brownfields Program has allocated nearly $2.7 billion in grants to evaluate and clean up contaminated properties. The program typically allocates around $60 million annually.
For example, officials in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, recently combined EPA grants with local funding to clean up contaminants such as lead and asbestos at the site of a former machine harvesting company. The building that had sat dormant for decades was transformed into an arts center that serves as a cultural hub.
Photo courtesy Massachusetts Dept. of Environmental Protection
