Brownfields Community-Wide Assessment Grant

1) Community-Wide Assessment Grants 

Brownfield Community-Wide Assessment Grants are appropriate for communities beginning to address their brownfield challenges, as well as for communities that have ongoing efforts to bring sites into productive reuse.  

Brownfield Community-Wide Assessment Grants funds can be used for the direct costs associated with the inventory, site prioritization, community involvement, site reuse planning, assessment, and cleanup planning for brownfield sites. A portion of the Brownfield Community-Wide Assessment Grants funding must be used to conduct site assessments. Brownfield Community-Wide Assessment Grants funds may not be used to conduct cleanup activities. 

Applicants may request funding to address sites contaminated by hazardous substances (i.e., sites with potential contamination of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants) and/or petroleum (i.e., sites with potential petroleum contamination).

Successful brownfield reuse and redevelopment often depends on early consideration of local community priorities; market conditions; infrastructure availability; environmental contamination; public health issues; and local ordinances.

Community-Wide Assessment Grants funds can also be used for programmatic management of the grant; purchase of environmental insurance; and local governments may use up to 10% of their grant funds for the following activities:

• Health monitoring of populations exposed to hazardous substances from a brownfield site; and 
  
• Monitoring and enforcement of any institutional control used to prevent human exposure to any hazardous substance from a brownfield site. 
  

The following entities are eligible to apply for Community-Wide Assessment Grants: 

• State; General Purpose Unit of Local Government; Land Clearance Authority; Government Entity Created by State Legislature; Regional Council established under a governmental authority (e.g., Regional Planning Commissions); or a Group of General Purpose Units of Local Government established under Federal, state, or local law (e.g., councils of governments) to function as a single legal entity with authority to enter into binding agreements with the Federal Government; Indian Tribe other than in Alaska; an Alaska Native Regional Corporation; an Alaska Native Village Corporation; the Metlakatla Indian Community; Nonprofit Organizations (i.e., 501(c)(3)); Limited Liability Corporations; Limited Partnerships; and Qualified Community Development Entities as defined in Section 45D(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

A brownfield site is defined in CERCLA § 101(39) as real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants, controlled substances, petroleum, or petroleum products, or is mine-scarred land. 
All applications must be for projects that support Goal 6—Safeguard and Revitalize Communities, Objective 6.1—Clean Up and Restore Land for Productive Uses and Health Communities of EPA’s Strategic Plan. 
Brownfield Community-Wide Assessment Grants will be awarded as cooperative agreements. Cooperative agreements require the EPA Project Officer to be substantially involved in overseeing the work performed by selected recipients. 
For examples of grant project accomplishments across the country, please see the EPA’s Brownfield Grant Recipients’ Success Stories. For more information on a range of brownfield funding topics, please refer to the EPA’s Brownfields Webpage.