Brownfields and Land Revitalization Highlights
(selected project examples)
Gardena, California
A Brownfields Assessment grant helped to leverage more than
$29 million in redevelopment funding, giving Gardena a new
economic outlook.
www.epa.gov/brownfields/success/gardena_ca.pdf
Houston, Texas
A Brownfields Cleanup grant helped to turn an abandoned
hospital facility into modern, loft-style apartments.
www.epa.gov/brownfields/success/houston_tx_BRAG.pdf
Boston, Massachusetts
A Brownfields Job Training grant prepared un- and
under-employed residents of suburban Boston for
environmental careers.
www.epa.gov/brownfields/success/jfy _boston.pdf
Maryland/District of Columbia
A project under EPA's Urban Rivers Restoration Initiative,
the Anacostia River Watershed Restoration Pilot promotes
pollution reductions, ecological restoration, and public stewardship
of Maryland's Anacostia watershed.
www.epa.gov/landrevitalization/urbanrivers/
Additional Project Highlights
www.epa.gov/brownfields/success/success.htm
More Information on Individual Brownfields Grant Types
www.epa.gov/brownfields/pilot.htm
Links for Additional Information
EPA's Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization:
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Brownfields Grant Application Information:
www.epa.gov/brownfields/applicat.htm
Grants and Funding Opportunities Under Other EPA
Cleanup Programs:
www.epa.gov/brownfields/mmatters.htm
www.epa.gov/oswer/grants-funding.htm
Contort Information
Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization
(202) 566-2777
Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
(202) 564-2440
Superfund Redevelopment Program
(703) 603-8864
Office of Underground Storage Tanks
(703)603-7164
Federal Facilities Restoration and Reuse Office
(703) 603-0048
RCRA Brownfields Initiative
(703) 308-8399
Additional EPA Land Revitalization Contacts:
www.epa.gov/landrevitalization/contactus.htm
SEPA
Brownfie/ds/Land Revita/iza tion
General Brochure
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA-560-F-09-519
October 2009
www.epa.gov/brownfields
The Gateway Park redevelopment project in Worcester, Massachusetts,
creating more than 1.5 million square feet of commercial space.
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An Overview of
Land Revitalization
"Cleaning up contamination is vitally
important to the physical health of
America's communities, but putting
clean land back into productive
use brings with it a range of social
and economic benefits that will
strengthen those communities for
years to come."
EPA Assistant Administrator
for Solid Waste and Emergency Response
Mathy Stanislaus
October 2009
As part of its mission to protect human
health and the environment, EPA
is dedicated to revitalizing all types
of contaminated land for productive
reuses. Cleaning up and reusing
contaminated properties can protect the
environment, reinvigorate communities,
jump-start local economies, preserve
greenspace, and prevent sprawl.
Revitalized land can be reused in ways
that offer the greatest local benefit
from creating public parks and restoring
local ecosystems to commercial and
residential redevelopment projects.
The Agency's land revitalization efforts
emphasize that cleanup and reuse
are mutually supportive goals and
consideration of anticipated property
reuse should be an integral part of
EPA's cleanup decisions. Whether
a property is a Superfund site, an
operating waste disposal site, a
petroleum facility, a former gas station,
or an abandoned industrial facility, EPA
believes that environmental cleanup
and the beneficial reuse of land across
all Agency programs must be achieved.
The Agency's land revitalization efforts
place an emphasis on:
Promoting effective tools
that address barriers to land
revitalization;
Developing land revitalization
statistics, measures, and outcomes;
Conducting land revitalization
public outreach;
Providing training;
Enhancing government coordination
to promote land revitalization; and
Building strong land revitalization
partnerships.
EPA's Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program has been
instrumental in furthering the Agency's
land revitalization goals. The Program's
grants and technical assistance give
communities, states, tribes, and other
stakeholders the resources they need
to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and
sustainably reuse brownfields.
A brownfield is a property, the
expansion, redevelopment, or reuse
of which may be complicated by the
presence or potential presence of a
hazardous substance, pollutant, or
contaminant. It is estimated that there
are more than 450,000 brownfields in
the U.S.
What are the Goals of the
Brownfields Program?
Protecting the Environment
Addressing brownfields to
promote the health and well-
being of America's people and
environment.
Promoting Partnerships
Enhancing collaboration and
communication essential to
facilitate brownfields cleanup
and reuse.
Strengthening the
Marketplace
Providing financial and technical
assistance to bolster the private
market.
Sustaining Reuse
Redeveloping brownfields to
enhance a community's long-
term quality of life.
Brownfields Funding
Assessment
Funding to inventory, characterize,
assess, and conduct planning and
community involvement related to
brownfields. An eligible entity may
apply for up to $200,000 to assess
a site contaminated by hazardous
substances, pollutants, or other
contaminants and up to $200,000
to address a site contaminated by
petroleum. Three or more eligible
entities may apply together as a
coalition for up to $1 million to assess a
minimum of five sites.
Cleanup
Funding to carry out cleanup activities
at brownfields. An eligible entity may
apply for up to $200,000 per site,
which may be used to address sites
contaminated by petroleum and
hazardous substances, pollutants, or
other contaminants.
Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grants
Funding to establish revolving loan
funds to make loans and subgrants
to clean up brownfields. An eligible
entity may apply for up to $1 million
or coalitions of eligible entities may
apply together for up to $1 million per
entity. The fund "revolves" by lending to
public and private borrowers in order to
finance environmental cleanup activities
at brownfields, and then using loan
repayments to provide new loans.
Job Training
Funding to establish environmental
cleanup and health and safety training
programs for residents of brownfields-
affected communities who are seeking
new skills and career opportunities.
An eligible entity may apply for up to
$200,000 to develop training programs
that help clean up brownfields, spur
economic development, and produce
highly qualified environmental
technicians.
Technical Assistance
Funding to agencies and organizations
for innovative training, research, and
technical assistance projects that
support brownfields revitalization.
State and Tribal Response Programs
Financial assistance to states and tribes
increases their capacity to oversee and
support brownfields projects.
Targeted Brownfields Assessments
Direct assistance for site-specific
assessments.
What is the Brownfields Grant
Application Process?
For details on the grant application
process, including frequently asked
questions (FAQ) and proposal
guidelines, please visit:
www.epa.gov/brownfields/applicat.htm
Other EPA Programs and Offices
Working Toward
Land Revitalization
Superfund
Superfund is the environmental
program established to address
abandoned hazardous waste sites,
allowing EPA to clean up such sites
and to compel responsible parties to
perform cleanups or reimburse the
government for EPA-led cleanups.
www.epa.gov/superfund/index.htm
Underground Storage Tanks (LIST)
The greatest potential hazard from
a leaking LIST is that the petroleum
or other hazardous substance can
seep into the soil and contaminate
groundwater, the source of drinking
water for nearly half of all Americans.
www.epa.gov/OUST/index.htm
Federal Facilities
The Federal Facilities Restoration
and Reuse Program works with other
federal and state agencies to facilitate
the cleanup and reuse of the nation's
federal facilities, including Base
Realignment and Closure (BRAC) sites.
www.epa.gov/swerffrr/index.htm
Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA)
Through RCRA, EPA has the authority
to control hazardous waste from
"cradle-to-grave," including the
waste's generation, transportation,
treatment, storage, and disposal. RCRA
also establishes a framework for the
management of non-hazardous wastes.
www.epa.gov/compliance/cleanup/rcra/
index.html
Office of Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance (OECA)
Employing an integrated approach of
compliance assistance, compliance
incentives, and innovative civil and
criminal enforcement, OECA and its
partners seek to maximize compliance
and reduce threats to public health
and the environment, www.epa.gov/
compliance/about/index, html
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