Proposal Guidelines for
Brownfields Assessment,
Revolving Loan Fund, and
Cleanup Grants
r
Recycled/Recyclable
Printed with Soy/Canola Ink on paper that
contains at least 50% recycled fiber
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Solid Waste and EPA-500-F-03-244
Emergency Response October 2003
(5105T) www.epa.gov/brownfields
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Table of Contents
What are Brownfields? 3
Background 3
The Brownfields Law 3
What are the Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Grant Programs? 5
How Much Funding is Available in FY04? 7
Who Can Apply? 7
How Do I Apply for a Brownfields Grant? 8
Is Pre-Application Assistance Available to Applicants? 9
What is EPA's Process for Evaluating Proposals and Selecting the Grant Recipients? 9
What Are the Statutory and Policy Considerations that EPA May Take into Account? 10
What Are the General Proposal Requirements? 10
What Should be in My Proposal? 11
Cover Letter and Applicant Information 11
Assessment Grant Criteria 13
Threshold Criteria for Assessment Grants 13
Ranking Criteria for Assessment Grants 15
Revolving Loan Fund Grant Criteria 19
Threshold Criteria for RLF Grants 19
Ranking Criteria for RLF Grants 23
Cleanup Grant Criteria 29
Threshold Criteria for Cleanup Grants 29
Ranking Criteria for Cleanup Grants 32
Appendix 1. Regional Brownfields Coordinators 37
Appendix 2. Prohibitions on Use of Funds 39
Appendix 3. Guidance on Sites Eligible for Brownfields Funding Under CERCLA §104(k) 41
Appendix 4. Guidance for Requests for Property-Specific Determinations for Funding 53
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What are Brownfields?
These guidelines are provided pursuant to Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance # 66.818. The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields
Revitalization Act ("Brownfields Law" or "the Law", P.L. 107-118) requires the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to publish guidance to assist
applicants in preparing proposals for grants to address brownfield sites. This
law defines a brownfield site as "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," as defined in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act of 1980 § 101(39), as amended (CERCLA). The law further defines the term "brownfield
site" to include a site that "is contaminated by a controlled substance...; is contaminated by petroleum or a
petroleum product excluded from the definition of 'hazardous substance'...; is mine-scarred land."
Background
In the early 1990s, stakeholders expressed their concerns to EPA about the problems associated with
brownfields across the country. More than 600,000 properties that were once used for industrial,
manufacturing, or commercial uses were lying abandoned or underused due to the suspicion of hazardous
substance contamination. Brownfield areas, particularly those in city centers, were contributing to blight
and joblessness in surrounding communities. Unknown environmental liabilities were preventing
communities, developers, and investors from restoring these properties to productive use and revitalizing
impacted neighborhoods.
In 1994, EPA responded to the brownfield problem with an environmental protection approach that is
locally based, encourages strong public-private partnerships, and promotes innovative and creative ways
to assess, clean up, and redevelop brownfield sites. This approach empowers state, tribal, and local
environmental and economic development officials to oversee brownfield activities, and encourages
implementing local solutions to local problems. EPA also has provided funding to create local
environmental job training programs to ensure that the economic benefits derived from brownfield
revitalization efforts remain in local neighborhoods.
The Brownfields Law
On January 11,2002, the President signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields
Revitalization Act (Brownfields Law). The Brownfields Law expands potential federal financial assistance
for brownfield revitalization, including grants for assessment, cleanup, and job training. The law also limits
the liability of certain contiguous property owners and prospective purchasers of brownfield properties,
and clarifies innocent landowner defenses to encourage revitalization and reuse of brownfield sites. The
Brownfields Law also includes provisions to establish and enhance state and tribal response programs,
which will continue to play a critical role in the successful cleanup and revitalization of brownfields.
The Brownfields Law contains provisions that are important for grant applicants to keep in mind when
using these guidelines.1 Some of those features are summarized below.
lrThe authority to provide grants in the Brownfields Law is codified at § 104(k) of CERCLA.
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Applicant Eligibility
The Brownfields Law expands eligibility for brownfields funding by broadening the entities eligible for
funding. It also permits the award of cleanup grants to eligible entities, including nonprofit organizations,
that own the property they wish to clean up. EPA has adopted a definition of nonprofit organizations that
includes universities and other nonprofit educational institutions. In addition, EPA will continue its policy
of accepting proposals from "coalitions," or groups of eligible entities, to pool their revolving loan
capitalization grant funds. A coalition is a group of two or more eligible entities which submits one grant
application under the name of one of the coalition participants. The grant recipient must administer the
grant, be accountable to EPA for proper expenditure of the funds, and be the point of contact for the
other coalition members.
Site Eligibility
The Brownfields Law defines a brownfield site broadly, but does exclude certain sites from funding
eligibility unless EPA makes a property-specific determination to fund (see Appendix 3 for additional
information). This determination will be based on whether or not awarding a grant will protect human
health and the environment and either promote economic development or enable the property to be used
for parks, greenways, and similar recreational or nonprofit purposes. (See Appendix 3 and Appendix 4
for more information on' 'eligibility for funding'' and' 'property-specific determinations.'')
The Brownfields Law excludes the following three types of properties from funding eligibility and
prohibits EPA from making property-specific determinations on these properties: 1.) Facilities listed (or
proposed for listing) on the National Priorities List (NPL); 2.) Facilities subject to unilateral administrative
orders, court orders, administrative orders on consent or judicial consent decrees issued to or entered
into by parties under CERCLA; and 3.) Facilities that are subject to the jurisdiction, custody or control,
of the United States government. (Note: Land held in trust by the United States government for an Indian
tribe is eligible for brownfields funding.)
Petroleum Eligibility
Generally, the Law allows EPA to award brownfield grant funds for activities at petroleum-contaminated
sites that: 1) EPA or the state determines are of "relatively low risk" compared with other petroleum-
contaminated sites in the state; 2) EPA or the state determines have no viable responsible party and that
will be assessed, investigated, or cleaned up by a person that is not potentially liable for cleaning up the
site; and 3) are not subject to a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) 9003(h) order. EPA
must make available 25 percent of the total grant funds for assessment and/or cleanup of petroleum-
contaminated sites. EPA has designed these guidelines to allow applicants to specify the amount of
funding that will be used at petroleum-contaminated sites. (See Appendix 3 for additional information.)
Cost Share
The Brownfields Law requires a 20 percent cost share for revolving loan fund and cleanup grants. For
example, a $200,000 cleanup grant will require a $40,000 cost share; a $ 1 million RLF grant will require
a $200,000 cost share.
Prohibition on Administrative Costs
Grant funds cannot be used for administrative costs.
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Additional Uses/Restrictions of Grant Funds
Grant funds cannot be used to pay response costs at a brownfield site for which the recipient of the
grant or loan is potentially liable under CERCLA § 107. Under CERCLA § 107, present and past
owners or operators, parties that arranged for the treatment or disposal of hazardous substances, and
parties that accept hazardous substances for transport to disposal or treatment facilities are potentially
liable for cleanup up or paying the cost of cleaning up a site. Thus, an owner of contaminated land may
be liable even though they did not cause or contribute to the contamination at the site. The Brownfields
Law established liability protection for innocent land owners, contiguous property owners and bona fide
prospective purchasers of contaminated land. Applicants that own a contaminated site may qualify for
one of these landowner liability protections. For example, applicants that purchased contaminated land
on or after the enactment date of the Brownfields Law (January 11,2002) and meet the statutory
landowner liability protection criteria are not prohibited from using brownfield grant funding at that site.
However, applicants that knowingly purchased contaminated property before January 11,2002, are not
eligible for a landowner liability protection and are, therefore, prohibited from using grant funds at that
site. (See Appendix 2, Prohibition on Use of Funds, for additional information on prohibitions).
Under the Brownfields Law, a local government (as defined in 40 CFR Part 31.3, Local Government}
may use up to 10 percent of its grant funds for monitoring the health of populations exposed to one or
more hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants from a brownfield site and monitoring and
enforcement of any institutional control used to prevent human exposure to any hazardous substance,
pollutant, or contaminant from a brownfield site. The term local government does not include state
or tribal governments but may include, among others, public housing authorities, school
districts, and councils of governments. To effectively oversee assessments and cleanups, local
governments may use grant funds (within the overall 10 percent limit) for other related program
development and implementation activities described in their EPA approved scope of work.
What are the Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund,
and Cleanup Grant Programs?
Three competitive brownfields grant programs are discussed in these guidelines: assessment grants,
revolving loan fund (RLE) grants, and cleanup grants.
Assessment Grants
Assessment grants provide funding for a grant recipient to inventory, characterize, assess, and conduct
planning and community involvement related to brownfield sites.
An eligible entity may apply for up to $200,000 to assess a site contaminated by hazardous substances,
pollutants, or contaminants (including hazardous substances co-mingled with petroleum) and up to
$200,000 to address a site contaminated by petroleum. Applicants may seek a waiver of the $200,000
limit and request up to $350,000 for a site contaminated by hazardous substances, pollutants, or
contaminants and up to $350,000 to assess a site contaminated by petroleum. Such waivers must be
based on the anticipated level of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants (including hazardous
substances co-mingled with petroleum) at a single site. Total grant fund requests should not exceed a
total of $400,000 unless such a waiver is requested. Due to budget limitations, no entity may apply for
more than $700,000 in assessment funding.
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The performance period for these grants is two years.
Refer to Appendix 2, Prohibitions on Use of Funds, for information on activities that may not be
funded using brownfields grant funds.
Revolving Loan Fund Grants
Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) grants provide funding for a grant recipient to capitalize a revolving loan fund
and to provide subgrants to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites.
An eligible entity may apply for up to $ 1,000,000 for an initial RLF grant.
Proposals may be submitted by "coalitions," or groups of eligible entities, to pool their revolving loan
capitalization grant funds. A coalition is a group of two or more eligible entities which submits one grant
application under the name of one of the coalition participants. The grant recipient must administer the
grant, be accountable to EPA for proper expenditure of the funds, and be the point of contact for the
other coalition members. Members of the coalition other than the grant recipient must submit letters
agreeing to be part of the coalition.
Coalitions of eligible entities may apply together under one recipient for up to $ 1,000,000 per eligible
entity. These funds may be used to address sites contaminated by petroleum and hazardous substances,
pollutants, or contaminants (including hazardous substances co-mingled with petroleum).
An RLF grant recipient must use at least 60 percent of the awarded funds to capitalize and implement a
revolving loan fund. Revolving loan funds generally are used to provide no-interest or low-interest loans
for brownfields cleanups. An applicant may loan RLF grant funds to itself. An RLF grant recipient also
may use its funds to award subgrants to other eligible entities, including nonprofit organizations, for
brownfields cleanups on sites owned by the subgrantee; however, an RLF grant recipient may use no
more than 40 percent of the awarded funds for cleanup subgrants and may not subgrant to itself. An
RLF grant recipient may not make a cleanup subgrant that exceeds $200,000 per site. In the case of a
coalition, the RLF grant recipient may subgrant to other coalition members. Unlike loans, cleanup
subgrants do not require repayment.
An RLF award requires a 20 percent cost share, which may be in the form of a contribution of money,
labor, material, or services, and must be for eligible and allowable costs (the match must equal 20 percent
of the amount of funding provided by EPA and cannot include administrative costs, as described in
Appendix 2). An RLF grant applicant may request a waiver of the 20 percent cost share requirement
based on hardship.
The performance period for these grants is five years.
Refer to Appendix 2, Prohibitions on Use of Funds, for information on activities that may not be
funded using brownfields grant funds.
Cleanup Grants
Cleanup grants provide funding for a grant recipient to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites.
An eligible entity may apply for up to $200,000 per site. Due to budget limitations, no entity should
apply for funding cleanup activities at more than five sites. These funds may be used to address sites
contaminated by petroleum and hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants (including hazardous
substances co-mingled with petroleum).
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Cleanup grants require a 20 percent cost share, which may be in the form of a contribution of money,
labor, material, or services, and must be for eligible and allowable costs (the match must equal 20
percent of the amount of funding provided by EPA and cannot include administrative costs, as
described in Appendix 2). A cleanup grant applicant may request a waiver of the 20 percent cost
share requirement based on hardship.
In order to receive a cleanup grant, the applicant must own the property for which they are applying by
the time the grant is awarded and no later than September 30,2004. For the purposes of these
guidelines, the term "own" means fee simple title.
A minimum of a Phase I site assessment must be completed prior to proposal submission.
The performance period for these grants is two years.
Refer to Appendix 2, Prohibitions on Use of Funds, for information on activities that may not be
funded using brownfields grant funds.
How Much Funding is Available in FY04?
EPA estimates that $100 million will be available to make up to 200 grant awards, contingent upon the
availability of funds in FY 2004.
Who Can Apply?
Eligible applicants, including those with existing brownfields grants, may apply for one, or all, of the grant
programs. The following table indicates, by grant program, what types of entities are eligible to receive
EPA funds for brownfields assessment, RLE, and cleanup grants:
Type of Applicant
General Purpose Unit of Local Government3
Land Clearance Authority or other
quasi-governmental entity that operates under
the supervision and control of, or as an agent
of, a general purpose unit of local government
Government Entity Created by State Legislature
Regional council or group of general purpose
units of local government
Redevelopment Agency that is chartered or
otherwise sanctioned by a state
State
Indian Tribe other than in Alaska4
Alaska Native Regional Corporation, Alaska
Native Village Corporation, and Metlakatla
Indian Community5
Nonprofit organizations6
Assessment
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
RLF1
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
Cleanup2
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
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1 To be eligible for an RLF subgrant, the subgrantee must own the site and must provide documentation
to demonstrate ownership (e.g., copy of the fee simple title) prior to the award of the subgrant.
2 To be eligible for a cleanup grant, the fund recipient must own the site and provide documentation to
demonstrate ownership (e.g., copy of the fee simple title) prior to the award of the cooperative
agreement and no later than September 30,2004.
3 For purposes of the brownfields grant program, EPA defines general purpose unit of local government
as a "local government" as that term is defined under 40 CFR Part 31.
4 Intertribal Consortia are eligible for funding in accordance with EPA's policy for funding intertribal
consortia published in the Federal Register on November 4,2002. This policy also may be obtained
from your Regional Brownfields Contact.
5 Alaska Native Regional Corporations and Alaska Native Village Corporations are defined in the
Alaskan Native Claim Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 and following).
6 For the purposes of the brownfields grant program, EPA will use the definition of nonprofit
organizations contained in Section 4(6) of the Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement
Act of 1999, Public Law 106-107,31USC 6101, Note. The term "nonprofit organization" means
any corporation, trust, association, cooperative, or other organization that is operated mainly for
scientific, educational, service, charitable, or similar purpose in the public interest; is not organized
primarily for profit; and uses net proceeds to maintain, improve, or expand the operation of the
organization.
How Do I Apply for a Brownfields Grant?
EPA has established a competitive system for awarding grants to applicants whose proposals have received
the highest rankings.
Proposal Submission
Applicants will submit a proposal for each grant type that they are applying for (i.e., assessment, revolving
loan fund, and/or cleanup.) If an applicant is applying for more than one grant type, the applicant must
submit a separate proposal for each grant type. Each proposal must address the thresholdand ranking
criteria identified for each grant activity type. Every proposal should stand on its own merits and should not
reference responses to criteria in another proposal.
To submit a proposal, applicants must send an original proposal to Don West, Environmental
Management Support, Inc., 8601 Georgia Avenue, Suite 500, Silver Spring, MD 20910, phone 301-
589-5318, and a copy to their Regional Brownfields Coordinator at the addresses shown in Appendix 1.
Refer to the section, What Are the General Proposal Requirements?, for instructions on preparing
proposals. Proposals must be postmarked or sent via registered or tracked mail to Environmental
Management Support, Inc. and the appropriate Regional representative by December 4,2003.
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Is Pre-Application Assistance Available to Applicants?
Yes. EPA will post Frequently Asked Questions on its website at www.epa.gov/brownfields. In addition, if
resources permit, EPA Regions may conduct open meetings with potential applicants. Please check with
your regional office for date and location information. EPA Regions will also respond to questions from
individual applicants about any of the threshold criteria, including site eligibility and property ownership.
Upon request, Regional staff may review pertinent documents relating to these threshold criteria. However,
in accordance with EPAs Competition Policy, EPA staff will not meet with individual applicants to discuss
draft proposals, provide informal comments on draft proposals, or provide advice to applicants on how to
respond to ranking criteria.
What is EPA's Process for Evaluating Proposals and Selecting
the Grant Recipients?
Proposals will be evaluated and ranked by evaluation panels. These panels will evaluate responses to
threshold criteria on a pass/fail basis and will evaluate responses to ranking criteria on a numerical scoring
basis. If a proposal fails to meet a threshold requirement, it will receive no further consideration.
However, EPA may seek clarification from an applicant regarding its response to the threshold criteria.
(Note: EPA will not seek clarification on an applicant's response to the Cover Letter and
Applicant Information section or the ranking criteria.) Scores on each ranking criterion will be
totaled to determine proposal rankings.
Funding requests for each grant type will be evaluated and ranked separately.
Final selections will be made by EPA senior management based upon the ranking of proposals by
National Evaluation Panels. EPA decisions may take into account other statutory and policy
considerations (see below).
Successful proposal applicants will be informed in writing of their selection.
Funding will be awarded as a cooperative agreement. EPA anticipates substantial involvement with the
cooperative agreement recipient. The applicants whose proposals are selected will be asked to submit a
cooperative agreement application package to their EPA Regional office. This package will include an
EPA-approved work plan, a final budget, and required forms. Cooperative agreements approved under
this final selection step will include terms and conditions. These terms and conditions will be binding on
the grant recipient and cover areas such as complying with all applicable federal and state laws and
ensuring that cleanups protect human health and the environment. Applicants also will be required to
submit progress reports in accordance with grant regulations found in 40 CFR 30.51 or 40 CFR 31.40.
In addition, successful grant applicants will be required to provide a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal
Numbering System (DUNS) number, which is now required when applying for federal grants or
cooperative agreements on or after October 2003. For more information, please go to www.grants.gov.
EPA will work closely with the applicant to process and finalize the cooperative agreement package.
Any disputes regarding proposals or applications submitted in response to these guidelines will be
resolved in accordance with 40 CFR 30.63 and Part 31, Subpart F.
In accordance with Executive Order 12372, EPA encourages applicants to contact their State
Intergovernmental Review Office early so that the required intergovernmental review process may begin
immediately upon selection by EPA. If the state does not have an Intergovernmental Review Office, the
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successful applicant must provide notice of the proposed agreement directly to affected state, area-wide,
regional, and local entities. Contact your Regional Brownfields Contact for assistance, if needed.
EPA reserves the right to reject any or all proposals or applications and make no awards.
What Are the Statutory and Policy Considerations that EPA May
Take into Account?
Statutory and policy considerations that EPA may take into account when selecting the grant recipients
include fair distribution of funds between urban and non-urban and other geographic factors; compliance
with the statutory petroleum funding allocation; the benefits of promoting the long-term availability of funds
under the RLE grants; designation as a federal Empowerment Zone, Enterprise Community, or Renewal
Community; population; and whether the applicant is a federally recognized Indian tribe. In addition, special
consideration will be given to projects committed to achieving recognized green building and/or energy
efficiency building standards. Examples include Energy Star, U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Rating System, California Collaborative for High Performance
Schools, Austin Green Builder Program, or equivalent standards.
What Are the General Proposal Requirements?
All materials included in the proposal (including maps and other attachments) must be printed on letter-
sizedpaper (SVz" by 11"), a minimum of one-inch margins, and font sizes may be no smaller than 12 points.
Proposals received by EPA will be copied and distributed to appropriate reviewers; therefore, please
refrain from the use of binders and color printing. Proposals should be no more than 15 single-sided
pages in length, not including the cover letter (two-page limit) and attachments. For applicants with site-
specific proposals with more than one site (as opposed to community-wide proposals), you may include up
to 2 additional pages per site as needed to respond to the threshold and ranking criteria. While there are
certain mandatory attachments (e.g., state letter, legal opinions for RLE proposals, property-specific
determination information for excluded sites), attachments should be kept to a minimum. Please do not
include photos and other graphics. Pages in excess of this limit will be removed and not evaluated.
Applicants should clearly mark information they consider confidential. EPA will make final confidentiality
decisions in accordance with Agency regulations in 40 CFR Part 2, Subpart B.
Proposals should be concise and well organized, and must provide the information requested in the
guidelines, including responses to each criterion. Factual information about your proposed project and
community should be provided. Proposals should not include discussions of broad principles that are not
specific to the proposed work or project. Responses to criteria should include the criteria number and title
but need not restate the entire text of the criteria.
Electronic copies of these guidelines can be obtained from the EPA brownfields web site (www.epa.gov/
brownfields) or by contacting your Regional Brownfields Contact listed in Appendix 1.
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What Should be in My Proposal?
Cover Letter and Applicant
Information
A Cover Letter, Applicant Information, and applicable mandatory attachments (e.g., state letter, legal
opinions for RLF proposals, property-specific determination information for excluded sites) must
accompany every proposal. Reminder: Applicants are to submit SEPARATE proposals for EACH type
of grant for which you are applying.
Please provide the following for EACH grant proposal you are preparing:
A. Cover Letter
Submission of a cover letter is required. The cover letter should briefly (maximum 2 pages) describe
your overall Brownfields project and how funding this proposal will advance your project goals. The
letter must be prepared on the applicant's letterhead and signed by an official of your organization.
NOTE FOR APPLICANTS APPLYING FOR MORE THAN ONE GRANT: if you are applying for
an assessment grant with more than one site identified in the proposal, you may provide up to two
additional pages of information per site as needed to describe the overall project for each site. If you
are applying for multiple cleanup grants, please provide a separate cover letter for each proposal.
B. Applicant Information
1. Project Title: Be as specific as possible.
2. Grant Type: 1) Identify the type of grant you are applying for (i.e., assessment, RLF, or cleanup)
and 2) the type of contamination to be addressed by grant funding (i.e., hazardous substance and/or
petroleum).
3. Total Dollar Amount Requested for this Grant: Specify the actual dollar amount you are requesting
and identify whether you are requesting hazardous substance funding, petroleum funding, or both.
For example, $200,000 hazardous substance; $ 150,000 petroleum. For assessment grant
proposals only: if applying for an assessment waiver of up to $ 150,000, please include this in the
dollar amount. For example, $350,000 hazardous substance.
4. Name of Applicant: The proposed recipient of the grant funds.
Note: For RLF coalitions, it is not necessary to list the coalition members. However, the
entity named here will be considered the cooperative agreement recipient.
5. Project Contact: Name, mailing address, telephone and fax numbers, and email address of the
person from your organization who is responsible for the project proposal. We will contact this
person if we need further information.
6. ChiefExecutive: Name of the elected or other official who is head of your organization, mailing
address, email address, and phone and fax numbers.
Note: For RLF coalition proposals, provide the information for the chief executive for each
eligible entity in the coalition.
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7. Location: City, county, and state or Indian Reservation, tribally-owned lands, tribal fee lands, etc.,
of the area targeted by your proposal.
Note: For RLF coalition proposals, list the relevant information for each eligible entity.
8. Population: The population of your jurisdiction and the population of the target area for your
proposal. Tribes should provide the number of tribal/non-tribal members affected.
Note: For RLF coalition proposals, list the relevant information for each eligible entity.
9. Special Consideration: Indicate whether you are a federally recognized tribe; federally designated
Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Community; or federally designated Renewal Community.
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Assessment Grant Criteria
Provide responses to the following threshold and ranking criteria if you are
applying for assessment grant funding. Threshold criteria are pass/fail criteria. If
your responses do not meet the threshold criteria, the ranking criteria will not be
evaluated.
Threshold Criteria for Assessment Grants
Note: For all threshold criteria, EPA may seek further clarification of responses, if needed, during
the selection review process.
A. Applicant Eligibility
1. Describe how you are an eligible entity for the grant for which you are applying. Refer to the
description of applicant eligibility in the sections What are Brownfields? and Who Can Apply?.
B. Community Notification
1. Describe how the targeted community(ies) was/were notified of the preparation and submission of
this grant proposal and provided opportunity for public comment prior to submitting this
proposal. This may include putting a notice of availability in the local newspaper or other widely
available/accessible local media asking for public comment. Notifications must be current and
related to this specific proposal being submitted for consideration. Failure to demonstrate
community notification will result in failure of this application. Applicants who are submitting more
than one proposal may opt to have a single community notification. However, all targeted
communities must receive the notification and be provided an opportunity to comment on the
proposal(s) relevant to their community.
C. Letter from the State or Tribal Environmental Authority
1. For an applicant other than a state or tribal environmental authority, provide a current letter from the
appropriate state or tribal environmental authority acknowledging that the applicant plans to conduct
assessment activities and is planning to apply for federal grant funds. If you are applying for multiple
types of grant program activities, you need submit only one letter acknowledging the relevant grant
activities. However, you must provide the letter as an attachment to EACH proposal. Please
note that general correspondence and documents evidencing state involvement with the project (i.e.,
state enforcement orders or state notice letters) are NOT acceptable. Please provide at least two
weeks advance notice to the appropriate state or tribal environmental authority to allow adequate
time to receive the letter to accompany your proposal.
D. Site Eligibility and Property Ownership Eligibility
If you do not have specific sites identified, please move on to the ranking criteria in the next section. If
you have identified specific sites, address the following for each site. If a site does not pass the
threshold criteria below, an applicant may not substitute other sites.
1. Indicate whether you are applying for a waiver of the $200,000 per site funding limit. If so, indicate
the dollar amount requested and provide a justification as to why the waiver should be granted.
Justification must be based on the anticipated level of contamination, size, or status of ownership.
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2. a) List the site name; b) list the site address; c) describe its operational history and environmental
concerns; and d) describe its current site use and activity.
3. If the applicant determines that a property-specific determination is needed for the site to be eligible,
the applicant must attach information requested in Appendix 4, Section 4.1.
If the site is a petroleum site, please proceed to question #9. If the site is a hazardous
substance site, please continue responding to the questions in order.
4. a) Identify who currently owns the site; b) when they became owner; and c) from whom the site
was acquired.
5. Identify how the site became contaminated and, to the extent possible, describe the nature and
extent of the contamination.
6. Identify known ongoing or anticipated environmental enforcement actions related to the brownfield
site for which funding is sought. The applicant should demonstrate their relationship, if any, to the
contamination or hazardous waste at the site by describing any inquiries or orders from federal,
state, or local government entities that the applicant is aware of regarding the responsibility of any
party for the contamination or hazardous waste at the site. The information provided in this section
will be verified, and EPA will conduct an independent review of information related to the
applicant's responsibility for the contamination or hazardous waste at the site.
7. If the site is not owned by the applicant:
a. describe your relationship with the owner;
b. describe the owner's role in the work to be performed; and
c. indicate how you will gain access to the site.
8. If you, the applicant, own the site:
a. describe how you took ownership of the site (e.g., tax foreclosure, purchase, donation, eminent
domain) and date of acquisition;
b. identify whether or not all disposal of hazardous substances at the site occurred before you
acquired the property;
c. describe how, prior to taking ownership, you performed all appropriate inquiry (e.g., ASTM
Phase I or equivalent) into the previous ownership and uses of the property;
d. describe whether you are responsible for any of the environmental concerns at the site;
e. describe if you, in any way, are potentially liable, or affiliated with any other person who is
potentially liable, for contamination at the site;
f. identify if you have any direct and indirect familial relationship or any contractual, corporate, or
financial relationships with a potentially liable entity; and
g. describe the steps that have been taken with regard to the hazardous substances or
contamination at the site.
Applicants that own contaminated land should be aware that achieving and maintaining landowner
liability protections, ensuring eligibility for Brownfield grant funds, and complying with the terms and
conditions on the uses of grant funds at brownfield sites requires that they meet certain continuing
obligations. For example: grantees must comply with land-use restrictions and institutional controls; take
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reasonable steps with respect to the hazardous substances on the property; cooperate, assist, and allow
access to authorized representatives; and comply with CERCLA information requests and subpoenas
and provide legally required notices. For more information on the obligations of owners of contaminated
property, please see EPA's Common Elements Reference Sheet at: www.epa.gov/compliance/
resources/policies/cleanup/superfund/common-elem-ref.pdf.
Petroleum Sites
9. The Brownfields law restricts eligibility for brownfields funding to petroleum contaminated sites as
determined by EPA or the state. See Appendix 3, part 3.3.2 Contamination by Petroleum or
Petroleum Product. With the exception of Tribes, you must provide the following information, if
reasonably ascertainable, to your state, in time for the state to make the necessary determinations by
the deadline for submitting grant proposals to EPA.
Note, if your state is unable to make the determinations in Appendix 3, paragraph 3.3.2, you
may request EPA consider the information provided and make the determinations. You must make your
request to EPA to make these determinations no later than 2 weeks prior to the application deadline.
Provide the following information:
a. Identify the current owner of the site, as well as any current operator, lessee, or other similarly
situated party;
b. Discuss the history of the property and identify the previous owners of the site, as well as any
previous operators, lessees, or other similarly situated parties;
c. Provide information regarding when the petroleum contamination occurred at the site and the
parties that may have caused or contributed to the petroleum contamination at the site;
d. Provide information regarding whether any party can be identified that is subject to either:
(1) a judgment rendered in a court of law or an administrative order issued by an administrative
body that would require that party to assess, investigate, or clean up the site; or
(2) a filed enforcement action brought by federal or state authorities, or is party to a citizen suit, that
would, if successful, require that party to assess, investigate, or clean up the site; and
e. Provide information regarding whether the party having such legal obligations has adequate
financial resources to meet the obligation.
Your request to a state or EPA for the determinations on site eligibility also must include a brief
explanation of why the information requested above may not be available. For example, you may need
funding for a Phase 1 assessment to obtain some or all of this information regarding a site.
Ranking Criteria for Assessment Grants
A. Assessment Grant Proposal Budget (a maximum of 5 points may be received for this criterion)
1. Provide the proposed budget(s) for your proposal, including a detailed description of each task.
Typical tasks might include "Phase I Assessments," "Community Outreach," and "Cleanup
Planning." The budgets should show the distribution of funds, including cost estimates for each of
the proposed activities.
Note that you must provide separate budgets for funds intended for use on petroleum-
contaminated sites and funds intended for use on sites contaminated by hazardous substances.
vollutants. or contaminants (including hazardous substances co-minsled with vetroleum).
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A local government may use up to 10 percent of its grant funds for monitoring the health of
populations exposed to one or more hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants from a
brownfield site and monitoring and enforcement of any institutional control used to prevent human
exposure to any hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant from a brownfield site. To effectively
oversee assessments and cleanups, local governments may use grant funds (subject to the 10 percent
limit) for other related program development and implementation activities. Activities planned for the 10
percent category should be included in a separate budget task.
Sample Format for Budget Description
Budget Categories
(programmatic costs only)
Personnel
Travel
Equipment1
Supplies
Contractual2
Other (specify)
Total
Project Tasks
Taskl
Task 2
Task 3
Task 4
Total
1 EPA defines equipment as items that cost $5,000 or more with a useful life of more than one year.
Items costing less than $5,000 are considered supplies.
2 Applicants must comply with the procurement procedures contained in 40 CFR 31.36.
Provide responses to the following assessment ranking criteria:
B. Community Need (a maximum of 15 points may be received for this criterion)
1. Provide a detailed description of the target community that the project(s) will benefit. Include
demographic information for the target community and indicators such as the poverty rate,
unemployment rate, special community situations (e.g., population size), or other environmental
justice factors that support community need relating directly to this project (e.g., low-income and/or
minority communities; sensitive populations, such as children and pregnant women; or communities
disproportionately impacted by environmental factors). Identify the source for this information.
2. Explain how the targeted community will benefit from this grant.
3. Characterize the impact of brownfields on your community (or communities) by describing the
extent of brownfields (e.g., size, number, location) and the economic, health, and/or environmental
impacts of the brownfields.
C. Site Selection Process (a maximum of 10 points may be received for this criterion)
1. Describe how sites were selected/will be selected and what site selection criteria were/will be
developed.
2. Describe possible or previous inventory activities, prioritization efforts, or other activities.
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3. If you anticipate conducting assessment activities on privately owned sites, discuss possible access
issues and how you would resolve the issues.
D. Sustainable Reuse of Brownfields/Development Potential (a maximum of 10 points may be received for
this criterion)
1. Describe your "sustainable development" strategy for the site(s) or targeted area(s) (i.e., how your
plans for reuse of the site(s) or targeted area(s) will simultaneously enhance your community's
social, economic, and environmental well being).
2. Describe your specific plans to ensure that, after cleanup, the site(s) or targeted area(s) will be
reused in a manner that leads to environmental improvement through reductions in pollution and
resource consumption. Strategies to do so may include, for example, green building, smart growth,
clean energy production, eco-industrial development, native landscaping, alternative stormwater
management, and/or others.
3. Describe how this project(s) will stimulate economic development while responding to community (/)
needs, including the creation of jobs, capital investment, and increases to the local tax base. CD
4. Explain how your community is working to prevent the creation of future brownfields. (/)
5. How does your proposed reuse(s) and your ongoing efforts to prevent the creation of future
brownfields fit into your community's master plan, economic development plan/activities, other
relevant plans/activities, and your ongoing efforts to redevelop brownfields?
E. Creation and/or Preservation of Greenspace/Open Space or Other Nonprofit Purpose (a maximum of 5
points may be received for this criterion)
1. Describe the extent to which the grant would facilitate the creation of, preservation of, or addition to
a park, greenway, undeveloped property, recreational property, or other property used for nonprofit
purposes.
F. Reuse of Existing Infrastructure (a maximum of 5 points may be received for this criterion)
1. Describe whether the project will use existing infrastructure (e.g., existing roads, rail/bus/subway
services, buildings, utility services, sidewalks/pedestrian trails, recreational services, landscaping, »»
neighborhood centers/institutions) or require its expansion.
G. Community Involvement (a maximum of 15 points may be received for this criterion) (/)
1. Discuss your plan for involving the local community (e.g., neighborhood organizations, citizens'
groups, borrowers, redevelopers, and other stakeholders) in cleanup decisions or reuse planning.
2. Describe your efforts and/or plans to develop partnerships at the local, state, and/or tribal level with
other stakeholders to ensure appropriate and sustainable cleanup and redevelopment of
brownfields.
3. Describe the specific means by which you will communicate the progress of your project to citizens,
including plans for communicating in languages indigenous to the community.
4. Provide a list of the community-based organizations involved and a contact person, phone number,
and a brief description of the organization's activities and representation (these organizations may
include, but are not limited to, local citizen groups, environmental organizations, civic organizations,
local business groups and institutions, educational institutions, and local labor organizations).
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Note: EPA may conduct reference checks to ensure that organizations identified are supportive
and involved with the brownfields project. EPA encourages early community notification and
continuing community involvement.
H. Reduction of Threats to Human Health and the Environment (a maximum of 10 points may be received
for this criterion)
1. Describe how the funds will be used to address/facilitate the identification and/or reduction of
threats to human health and the environment within the target area (including cancer, asthma, or birth
defects) that may be associated with exposure to hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants, or
petroleum.
2. Describe how you are working with your state or tribal environmental authority and/or local public
health department to ensure that public health issues are considered during the redevelopment
process.
I. Leveraging of Additional Resources (a maximum of 15 points may be received for this criterion)
1. Describe the financial needs for each phase of the project (assessment, cleanup, and
redevelopment), if known. For example, assessment of the property is estimated at $300,000;
cleanup of the property is estimated at $500,000; redevelopment of the property into an XX-square
foot office building is estimated at $2.5 million.
2. Identify the funds (e.g., general revenues, Tax Increment Financing (Tib'), staff time/in-kind) that
your agency/organization has committed or will commit to meet the needs described above.
3. Describe all other funding sources (e.g., federal, state, nonprofit, or private) that will be committed
or that you are pursuing to fill in any remaining funding gaps to ensure the success of this project.
J. Ability to Manage Grants (a maximum of 10 points may be received for this criterion)
1. Describe your ability to manage this grant and oversee the work, or describe the system(s) you have
in place to acquire the requisite expertise.
2. Describe your history of managing federal funds generally. You must identify and provide information
regarding the status of any adverse audit findings from an OMB Circular A-133 audit, an audit
conducted by a federal, state, tribal, or local government inspector general or similar organization,
or audits conducted by the U.S. General Accounting Office. You also must note whether you are,
or have previously been, required to comply with special "high risk" terms and conditions under
agency regulations implementing OMB Circular A-102.
3. If you are, or have been, a recipient of an EPA Brownfields cooperative agreement(s), provide
information regarding your compliance with quarterly progress reports, brownfields reporting
measures, and annual financial status reporting.
4. If you are a current recipient of an EPA Brownfields cooperative agreement(s), indicate the year of
award and the amount of funds remaining.
5. If you are a current recipient of an EPA Brownfields cooperative agreement(s), highlight significant
accomplishments generated through the use of the funds.
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Revolving Loan Fund Criteria
Provide responses to the following threshold and ranking criteria if you are
applying for revolving loan fund grant funding. Threshold criteria are pass/fail
criteria. If your responses do not meet the threshold criteria, the ranking criteria
will not be evaluated.
Threshold Criteria for RLF Grants
Note: For all threshold criterion, EPA may seek further clarification of responses, if needed, during
the selection review process.
A. Applicant Eligibility
1. Describe how you are an eligible entity for the grants for which you are applying. Refer to the
description of applicant eligibility in the sections What are Brow nfields? and Who Can Apply?.
Note: Coalition applicants for RLF grants must describe how all coalition members are eligible
entities. In addition, for coalition members other than the applicant, you must submit a letter
from each eligible coalition member in which they agree to be part of the coalition.
B. Community Notification
1. Describe how the targeted community(ies) was/were notified of the preparation and submission of
this grant proposal and provided opportunity for public comment prior to submitting this
proposal. This may include putting a notice of availability in the local newspaper or other widely
available/accessible local media asking for public comment. Notifications must be current and
related to this specific proposal being submitted for consideration. Failure to demonstrate
community notification will result in failure of this application. Applicants who are submitting more
than one proposal may opt to have a single community notification. However, all targeted
communities must receive the notification and be provided an opportunity to comment on the
proposal(s) relevant to their community.
C. Letter from the State or Tribal Environmental Authority
1. For an applicant other than a state or tribal environmental authority, provide a current letter from the
appropriate state or tribal environmental authority acknowledging that the applicant plans to conduct
cleanup activities and is planning to apply for federal grant funds. If you are applying for multiple
types of grant program activities, you need submit only one letter acknowledging the relevant grant
activities. However, you must provide the letter as an attachment to EACH proposal. Please
note that general correspondence and documents evidencing state involvement with the project (i.e.,
state enforcement orders or state notice letters) are NOT acceptable. Please provide at least two
weeks advance notice to the appropriate state or tribal environmental authority to allow adequate
time to receive the letter to accompany your proposal.
D. Site Eligibility and Property Ownership Eligibility
If you do not have specific sites identified, please move on to Threshold Criteria E, Cleanup Authority
and Oversight Structure. If you have identified specific sites, address the following for each site.
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1. Identify the proposed borrower or subgrantee. Include the organizational name and address.
2. a) List the site name; b) list the site address; c) describe its operational history and environmental
concerns; and d) describe its current site use and activity.
3. If the applicant determines that a property-specific determination is needed for the site to be eligible,
the applicant must attach information requested in Appendix 4, Section 4.1.
If the site is a petroleum site, please proceed to question #9. If the site is a hazardous
substance site, please continue responding to the questions in order.
4. a) Identify who currently owns the site; b) when they became the owner; and c) from whom the site
was acquired.
Note: For subgrants, the subgrantee must own the site.
5. Identify how the site became contaminated and, to the extent possible, describe the nature and
extent of the contamination.
6. Identify known ongoing or anticipated environmental enforcement actions related to the brownfield
site for which funding is sought. The applicant should demonstrate their relationship, if any, to the
contamination or hazardous waste at the site by describing any inquiries or orders from federal,
state, or local government entities that the applicant is aware of regarding the responsibility of any
party for the contamination or hazardous waste at the site. The information provided in this section
will be verified, and EPA will conduct an independent review of information related to the
applicant's responsibility for the contamination or hazardous waste at the site.
7. If the site is not owned by the applicant:
a. describe your relationship with the owner;
b. describe the owner's role in the work to be performed; and
c. indicate how you will gain access to the site.
8. If you, the applicant, own the site:
a. describe how you took ownership of the site (e.g., tax foreclosure, purchase, donation, eminent
domain) and date of acquisition;
b. identify whether or not all disposal of hazardous substances at the site occurred before you
acquired the property;
c. describe how, prior to taking ownership, you performed all appropriate inquiry (e.g., ASTM
Phase I or equivalent) into the previous ownership and uses of the property;
d. describe whether you are responsible for any of the environmental concerns at the site;
e. describe if you, in any way, are potentially liable, or affiliated with any other person who is
potentially liable, for contamination at the site;
f. identify if you have any direct and indirect familial relationship or any contractual, corporate, or
financial relationships with a potentially liable entity; and
g. describe the steps that have been taken with regard to hazardous substances or the
contamination at the site.
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Applicants that own contaminated land should be aware that achieving and maintaining landowner
liability protections, ensuring eligibility for Brownfield grant funds, and complying with the terms and
conditions on the uses of grant funds at brownfield sites requires that they meet certain continuing
obligations. For example: grantees must comply with land-use restrictions and institutional controls; take
reasonable steps with respect to the hazardous substances on the property; cooperate, assist, and allow
access to authorized representatives; and comply with CERCLA information requests and subpoenas
and provide legally required notices. For more information on the obligations of owners of contaminated
property, please see EPA's Common Elements Reference Sheet at: www.epa.gov/compliance/
resources/policies/cleanup/superfund/common-elem-ref.pdf.
Petroleum Sites
9. If you do not have specific sites identified, please move on to the ranking criteria in the next section.
If you have identified specific sites, address the following for each site. The Brownfields law
restricts eligibility for brownfields funding to petroleum contaminated sites as determined by EPA or
the state. See Appendix 3, part 3.3.2 Contamination by Petroleum or Petroleum Product.
With the exception of Tribes, you must provide the following information, if reasonably
ascertainable, to your state, in time for the state to make the necessary determinations by the
deadline for submitting grant proposals to EPA.
Note, if your state is unable to make the determinations in Appendix 3, paragraph 3.3.2, you \t)
may request EPA consider the information provided and make the determinations. You must make your
request to EPA to make these determinations no later than 2 weeks prior to the application deadline.
Provide the following information:
a. Identify the current owner of the site, as well as any current operator, lessee, or other similarly
situated party; .
b. Discuss the history of the property and identify the previous owners of the site, as well as any
previous operators, lessees, or other similarly situated parties; »
c. Provide information regarding when the petroleum contamination occurred at the site and the
parties that may have caused or contributed to the petroleum contamination at the site; (/)
d. Provide information regarding whether any party can be identified that is subject to either:
(1) a judgment rendered in a court of law or an administrative order issued by an administrative
body that would require that party to assess, investigate, or clean up the site; or
(2) a filed enforcement action brought by federal or state authorities, or is party to a citizen suit, that
would, if successful, require that party to assess, investigate, or clean up the site; and
e. Provide information regarding whether the party having such legal obligations has adequate
financial resources to meet the obligation.
Your request to a state or EPA for the determinations on site eligibility also must include a brief
explanation of why the information requested above may not be available.
E. Cleanup Authority and Oversight Structure
1. Describe how you will oversee the cleanup at the site. Indicate whether you plan to require loan or
subgrant recipients to enroll in a state or tribal voluntary response program. If you do not plan to
require loan or subgrant recipients to enroll in a state or tribal voluntary response program, provide
21
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a description of the technical expertise you have to manage the cleanup and/or whether you plan to
acquire additional technical expertise. If you do plan to acquire additional technical expertise,
discuss how, consistent with 40 CFR 31.36, you will ensure that this technical expertise is in place
prior to beginning cleanup activities.
2. Provide a legal opinion from your counsel that demonstrates that you have legal authority to access
and secure sites in the event of an emergency or default of a loan agreement or non-performance
under a subgrant. Attach your counsel's legal opinion.
F. Cost Share
RLF grant recipients are required by the Brownfields Law to provide a 20 percent cost share.2 This
cost share is calculated as 20 percent of the total federal RLF funds awarded. For example, if you are
applying for $ 1 million of federal RLF funds, you must provide a cost share of an additional $200,000.
The cost share may be in the form of a contribution of money, labor, material, or services from a non-
federal source. If the cost share is in the form of a contribution of labor, material, or other services, it
must be incurred for an eligible and allowable expense under the grant and not for ineligible
expenses, such as administrative costs (see Appendix 2 for a discussion of prohibited costs).
RLF grant applicants may petition EPA to waive the cost-share requirement if it would place an undue
hardship on the eligible entity. EPA will consider hardship waiver requests on a case-by-case basis and
will approve such requests on a limited basis. Undue hardship may be defined as bankruptcy or such
other indicator of distress, including low per-capita income, unemployment rate above national
average, or unemployment or economic adjustment problems resulting from severe short-term or long-
term changes in economic conditions.
1. Describe your plans for providing the cost share as required for this RLF program grant. If you
are requesting a hardship waiver of the cost share, provide an explanation for the basis of your
request as part of your proposal.
G. Legal Authority to Manage a Revolving Loan Fund
1. Provide an opinion from your legal counsel that demonstrates your legal authority to perform the
actions necessary to manage a revolving loan fund. At a minimum, legal authority must include the
ability to hold funds, make loans, enter into loan agreements, and collect repayments. This
authority may be based on statute, regulation, or other authority. Applicant must attach a legal
opinion.
Applicants for an RLF grant may use fees from borrowers, interest on loans, and other "program
income" to meet the cost share requirement. However, if an RLF grant applicant plans to use anticipated
program income for cost share, the applicant also must demonstrate how alternative sources for obtaining
money, labor, material, or services can be used to meet its cost share requirement if program income is less
than anticipated during the performance period for the grant. Recipients of RLF grants may not use
repayments of loan principal to meet the cost share requirement.
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Ranking Criteria for RLF Grants
A. RLF Grant Proposal Budget (a maximum of 5 points may be received for this criterion)
1. Provide the proposed budget(s) for your proposal, including a detailed description of each task.
Typical tasks would include "Community Involvement," "Establishing the Revolving Fund,"
"Marketing the Revolving Fund," "Operating the Revolving Fund," "Cleanup Planning," and
"Overseeing Site Cleanup." The budget also must reflect your cost share. The budget(s) should
show the distribution of funds, including cost estimates for each of the proposed activities. Please
note that the sample budget below provides for separate budgets for loans and subgrants. An RLF
grant recipient may not make a cleanup subgrant that exceeds $200,000 per site.
Note that you must provide separate budgets for funds intended for use on petroleum-
contaminated sites and funds intended for use on sites contaminated by hazardous substances,
pollutants, or contaminants (including hazardous substances co-mingled with petroleum).
A local government may use up to 10 percent of its grant funds for monitoring the health of
populations exposed to one or more hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants from a
brownfield site and monitoring and enforcement of any institutional control used to prevent human
exposure to any hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant from a brownfield site. To effectively
oversee assessments and cleanups, local governments may use grant funds (subject to the 10 percent
limit) for other related program development and implementation activities. Activities planned for the 10
percent category should be included in a separate budget task.
Sample Format for Budget Description
73
Budget Categories
(programmatic costs only)
Personnel
Fringe Benefits
Travel
Equipment1
Supplies
Contractual2
Other (specify)
Subtotal:
Project Tasks for Loans (at least 60 percent of amount requested)
Taskl
Task 2
TaskS
Task 4
Total
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Budget Categories
(programmatic costs only)
Personnel
Fringe Benefits
Travel
Equipment 1
Supplies
Contractual 2
Other
Subtotal:
Total
Cost share
Project Tasks for Subgrants (no more than 40 percent of
amount requested)
Taskl
Task 2
Task 3
Task 4
Total
^PA defines equipment as items that cost $5,000 or more with a useful life of more than one year.
Items costing less than $5,000 are considered supplies.
Applicants must comply with the procurement procedures contained in 40 CFR 3 1.36, or for
nonprofits, with 40 CFR 30.40.
B. Community Need (a maximum of 15 points may be received for this criterion)
1. Provide a detailed description of the target community that the project(s) will benefit. Include
demographic information for the target community and indicators, such as the poverty rate,
unemployment rate, special community situations (e.g., population size), or other environmental
justice factors that support community need relating directly to this project (e.g., low-income and/
or minority communities; sensitive populations, such as children and pregnant women; or
communities disproportionately impacted by environmental factors). Identify the source for this
information.
2. Explain how the targeted community will benefit from this grant.
3. Characterize the impact of brownfields on your community (or communities) by describing the
extent of brownfields (e.g., size, number, location) and the economic, health, and/or environmental
impacts of the brownfields.
C. Description of Target Market for RLF Loans and Subgrants (a maximum of 10 points may be
received for this criterion)
1. Describe your target market, including the types of borrowers and subgrantees (for example, small
businesses, developers, local governments) and types of sites (for example, single property,
multiple properties, geographic area).
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2. If you plan to award subgrants under the RLF, describe how you will take the following into
consideration3:
a. The extent to which the subgrant will facilitate the creation of, preservation of, or addition to a
park, greenway, undeveloped property, recreational property, or other property used for nonprofit
purposes;
b. The extent to which the subgrant will meet the needs of a community that has an inability to
draw on other sources of funding for environmental remediation and subsequent redevelopment of
the area in which a brownfield site is located because of the small population or low income of the
community;
c. The extent to which a subgrant will facilitate the use or reuse of existing infrastructure; and
d. The benefit of promoting the long-term availability of funds from a revolving loan fund for
brownfield remediation.
D. Business Plan (a maximum of 10 points may be received for this criterion)
1. Describe your anticipated loan structure (amount, interest, time frame for repayment).
2. Describe your advertising plan and any other redevelopment incentives (for example, TIFs, tax
incentives, tax credits, state funding programs) that may be offered as part of a package to assist
with promoting the RLF program.
3. Describe how your proposal will promote the long-term availability of funds from a revolving loan
fund. If you are planning to provide cleanup subgrants using your RLF grant, describe how this will
affect the long-term availability of your revolving loan fund.
4. Describe how you will make full and effective use of the RLF within the grant period. Include in
your discussion an implementation schedule and time line for your use of the RLF funds.
O
E. Sustainable Reuse of Brownfields/Development Potential (a maximum of 10 points may be received for fi)
this criterion)
1. Describe your "sustainable development" strategy for the site(s) or targeted area(s) (i.e., how your *"
plans for reuse of the site(s) or targeted area(s) will simultaneously enhance your community's
social, economic, and environmental well being).
2. Describe your specific plans to ensure that, after cleanup, the site(s) or targeted area(s) will be
reused in a manner that leads to environmental improvement through reductions in pollution and
resource consumption. Strategies to do so may include, for example, green building, smart growth,
clean energy production, eco-industrial development, native landscaping, alternative stormwater
management, and/or others.
3. Describe how this project(s) will stimulate economic development while responding to community
needs, including the creation of jobs, capital investment, and increases to the local tax base.
4. Explain how your community is working to prevent the creation of future brownfields.
5. How does your proposed reuse(s) and your ongoing efforts to prevent the creation of future
brownfields fit into your community's master plan, economic development plan/activities, other
relevant plans/activities, and your ongoing efforts to redevelop brownfields?
3RLF cooperative agreement recipients must take these into consideration when awarding a subgrant.
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F. Creation and/or Preservation of Greenspace/Open Space or Other Nonprofit Purpose (a maximum of 5
points may be received for this criterion)
1. Describe the extent to which the grant would facilitate the creation of, preservation of, or addition to
a park, greenway, undeveloped property, recreational property, or other property used for nonprofit
purposes.
G. Reuse of Existing Infrastructure (a maximum of 5 points may be received for this criterion)
1. Describe whether the project will use existing infrastructure (e.g., existing roads, rail/bus/subway
services, buildings, utility services, sidewalks/pedestrian trails, recreational services, landscaping,
neighborhood centers/institutions) or require its expansion.
H. Community Involvement (a maximum of 15 points may be received for this criterion)
1. Discuss your plan for involving the local community (e.g., neighborhood organizations, citizens'
groups, borrowers, redevelopers, and other stakeholders) in cleanup decisions or reuse planning.
2. Describe your efforts and/or plans to develop partnerships at the local, state, and/or tribal level with
other stakeholders to ensure appropriate and sustainable cleanup and redevelopment of
brownfields.
3. Describe the specific means by which you will communicate the progress of your project to citizens,
including plans for communicating in languages indigenous to the community.
4. Provide a list of the community-based organizations involved and a contact person, phone number,
and a brief description of the organization's activities and representation (these organizations may
include, but are not limited to, local citizen groups, environmental organizations, civic organizations,
local business groups and institutions, educational institutions, and local labor organizations).
Note: EPA may conduct reference checks to ensure that organizations identified are supportive
and involved with the brownfields project. EPA encourages early community notification and
continuing community involvement.
I. Reduction of Threats to Human Health and the Environment (a maximum of 10 points may be received
for this criterion)
1. Describe how the funds will be used to address/facilitate the identification and/or reduction of
threats to human health and the environment within the target area (including cancer, asthma, or birth
defects) that may be associated with exposure to hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants, or
petroleum.
2. Describe whether you are working with your state or tribal environmental authority and/or local
public health department to ensure that public health issues are considered during the redevelopment
process.
J. Leveraging of Additional Resources (a maximum of 15 points may be received for this criterion)
1. Describe the financial needs for each phase of the project (cleanup and redevelopment), if known.
2. Identify the funds (e.g., general revenues, tax increment financing (TIP), staff time/in-kind) that your
agency/organization has committed or will commit to meet the needs described above.
3. Describe all other funding sources (federal, state, nonprofit, or private) that will be committed to fill
in any remaining funding gaps to ensure the success of this project.
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K. Ability to Manage Grants/Management Structure (a maximum of 10 points may be received for this
criterion)
1. Describe your history of managing federal funds generally. You must identify and provide
information regarding the status of any adverse audit findings from an OMB Circular A-133 audit,
an audit conducted by a federal, state, tribal, or local government inspector general or similar
organization, or audits conducted by the U.S. General Accounting Office. You also must note
whether you are, or have previously been, required to comply with special "high risk" terms and
conditions under agency regulations implementing OMB Circular A-102.
2. Provide your plan for managing the loan fund to ensure that it is managed in accordance with
prudent lending practices. Include information on the qualifications of staff and institutions the
applicant intends to use for financial, analytical, legal, and record keeping activities to ensure that the
loan fund is managed in accordance with prudent lending practices.
3. If you plan to acquire any fund management expertise, describe the relationship between the
potential cooperative agreement recipient and the institution or individual and the type of agreement
(e.g., contract4 or subgrant5) that is planned.
4. If you are, or have been, a recipient of an EPA Brownfields cooperative agreement(s), provide
information regarding your compliance with quarterly progress reports, brownfields reporting
measures, and annual financial status reporting.
4Note, cooperative agreement recipients must comply with 40 CFR 31.36 when entering into procurement
contracts with RLF grant funds and 40 CFR 31.37 when issuing subgrants with RLF grant funds. Nonprofit
organizations receiving RLF loans/subgrants and cleanup grants must comply with 40 CFR Part 30 when
entering into procurement contracts with RLF grant funds.
5Note, cooperative agreement recipients cannot award subgrants to for-profit organizations.
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Cleanup Grant Criteria
Provide responses to the following threshold and ranking criteria if you are
applying for cleanup grant funding. Threshold criteria are pass/fail criteria. If your
responses do not meet the threshold criteria, the ranking criteria will not be
evaluated.
Note: One eligible entity may apply for up to 5 sites, at up to $200,000 per
site. Each site will be evaluated separately and funding decisions will be independent for each site.
If EPA determines that the threshold criteria for the site are not met, the applicant cannot substitute
other sites.
Threshold Criteria for Cleanup Grants
Note: For all threshold criterion, EPA may seek further clarification of responses, if needed, during
the selection review process.
A. Applicant Eligibility
1. Describe how you are an eligible entity for the grants for which you are applying. Refer to the
description of applicant eligibility in the sections What are Brownfields? and Who Can Apply?.
Note: In order to receive a cleanup grant, the applicant must own the property for which they are
applying by the time the grant is awarded and no later than September 30, 2004. For the
purposes of these guidelines, the term "own " means fee simple title.
B. Community Notification
1. Describe how the targeted community(ies) was/were notified of the preparation and submission of
this grant proposal and provided opportunity for public comment prior to submitting this
proposal. This may include putting a notice of availability in the local newspaper or other widely
available/accessible local media asking for public comment. Notifications must be current and
related to this specific proposal being submitted for consideration. Failure to demonstrate
community notification will result in failure of this application. Applicants who are submitting more
than one proposal may opt to have a single community notification. However, all targeted
communities must receive the notification and be provided an opportunity to comment on the
proposal(s) relevant to their community.
C. Letter from the State or Tribal Environmental Authority
1. For an applicant other than a state or tribal environmental authority, provide a current letter from the
appropriate state or tribal environmental authority acknowledging that the applicant plans to conduct
cleanup activities and is planning to apply for federal grant funds. If you are applying for multiple
types of grant program activities, you need submit only one letter acknowledging the relevant grant
activities. However, you must provide the letter as an attachment to EACH proposal. Please
note that general correspondence and documents evidencing state involvement with the project (i.e.,
state enforcement orders or state notice letters) are NOT acceptable. Please provide at least two
weeks advance notice to the appropriate state or tribal environmental authority to allow adequate
time to receive the letter to accompany your proposal.
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D. Site Eligibility and Property Ownership Eligibility
For each site, provide the following:
1. a) List the site name; b) list the site address; c) describe its operational history and environmental
concerns; and d) describe its current site use and activity.
2. If the applicant determines a property-specific determination is needed for the site to be eligible, the
applicant must attach information requested in Appendix 4, Section 4.1.
If the site is a petroleum site, please proceed to question #7. If the site is a hazardous
substance site, please continue responding to the questions in order.
3. Identify how the site became contaminated and, to the extent possible, describe the nature and
extent of the contamination.
4. Explain the phase of assessment that has been completed to date. A minimum of a Phase I site
assessment must be completed prior to proposal submission. If additional assessment work is
needed, please explain:
a. How much assessment is remaining?
b. What is the estimated cost of the remaining assessment?
c. What is the source of funds to pay for the remaining assessment?
d. What is the schedule for completing the assessment?
5. Identify known ongoing or anticipated environmental enforcement actions related to the brownfield
site for which funding is sought. The applicant should demonstrate their relationship, if any, to the
contamination or hazardous waste at the site by describing any inquiries or orders from federal,
state, or local government entities that the applicant is aware of regarding the responsibility of any
party for the contamination or hazardous waste at the site. The information provided in this section
will be verified, and EPA will conduct an independent review of information related to the
applicant's responsibility for the contamination or hazardous waste at the site.
6. a. Describe how you took ownership of the site (e.g., tax foreclosure, purchase, donation, eminent
domain) and date of acquisition. If you have not yet taken ownership of the site, describe how you
will take ownership of the site by the time the grant is awarded and no later than September 30,
2004;
b. identify whether or not all disposal of hazardous substances at the site occurred before you
acquired the property;
c. describe how, prior to taking ownership, you performed all appropriate inquiry (e.g., ASTM
Phase I or equivalent) into the previous ownership and uses of the property;
d. describe whether you are responsible for any of the environmental concerns at the site;
e. describe if you, in any way, are potentially liable, or affiliated with any other person who is
potentially liable, for contamination at the site;
f. identify if you have any direct and indirect familial relationship or any contractual, corporate, or
financial relationships with a potentially liable entity; and
g. describe the steps that have been taken with regard to the hazardous substances or
contamination at the site.
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Applicants that own contaminated land should be aware that achieving and maintaining landowner
liability protections, ensuring eligibility for Brownfield grant funds, and complying with the terms and
conditions on the uses of grant funds at brownfield sites requires that they meet certain continuing
obligations. For example: grantees must comply with land-use restrictions and institutional controls; take
reasonable steps with respect to the hazardous substances on the property; cooperate, assist, and allow
access to authorized representatives; and comply with CERCLA information requests and subpoenas
and provide legally required notices. For more information on the obligations of owners of contaminated
property, please see EPA's Common Elements Reference Sheet at: www.epa.gov/compliance/
resources/policies/cleanup/superfund/common-elem-ref.pdf.
Petroleum Sites
1. The Brownfields law restricts eligibility for brownfields funding to petroleum contaminated sites as
determined by EPA or the state. See Appendix 3, part 3.3.2 Contamination by Petroleum or
Petroleum Product. With the exception of Tribes, you must pro vide the following information, if
reasonably ascertainable, to your state, in time for the state to make the necessary determinations by
the deadline for submitting grant proposals to EPA.
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is in place prior to beginning cleanup activities.
2. Cleanup response activities often impact adjacent or neighboring properties. For example, access
to neighboring properties may be necessary to conduct the cleanup, perform confirmation sampling,
or monitor offsite migration of contamination. If this type of access is needed, provide your plan to
acquire access to the relevant property.
F. Cost Share
Cleanup grant recipients are required by the new Brownfields Law to provide a 20 percent cost share.
This cost share is calculated as 20 percent of the total federal cleanup funds awarded. For example, if
you are applying for $200,000 of federal cleanup funds, you must provide a cost share of an additional
$40,000. The cost share may be in the form of a contribution of money, labor, material, or services
from a non-federal source. If the cost share is in the form of contribution of labor, material, or other
services, it must be incurred for an eligible and allowable expense under the grant and not for
ineligible expenses, such as administrative costs (see Appendix 2 for a discussion of prohibited costs).
Cleanup grant applicants may petition EPA to waive the cost share requirement if it would place an
undue hardship on the eligible entity. EPA will consider hardship waiver requests on a case-by-case
basis and will approve such requests on a limited basis. Undue hardship may be defined as bankruptcy
or such other indicator of distress, including low per-capita income, unemployment rate above national
average, or unemployment or economic adjustment problems resulting from severe short-term or long-
term changes in economic conditions.
1. Describe your plans for providing the cost share as required for this cleanup program grant. If you
are requesting a hardship waiver of the cost share, provide an explanation for the basis of your
request as part of your proposal.
Ranking Criteria for Cleanup Grants
A. Cleanup Grant Budget (a maximum of 5 points may be received for this criterion)
1. Provide the proposed budget(s) for your proposal. Provide footnotes to the budget table
describing each task. Typical tasks would include "Community Involvement," "Site Cleanup," and
"Cleanup Planning." It must reflect your cost share. The budget(s) should show the distribution of
funds, including cost estimates for each of the proposed activities.
Note that you must provide separate budgets for funds intended for use on petroleum-
contaminated sites and funds intended for use on sites contaminated by hazardous substances,
pollutants, or contaminants (including hazardous substances co-mingled with petroleum).
A local government may use up to 10 percent of its grant funds for monitoring the health of
populations exposed to one or more hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants from a
brownfield site and monitoring and enforcement of any institutional control used to prevent human
exposure to any hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant from a brownfield site. To effectively
oversee assessments and cleanups, local governments may use grant funds (subject to the 10 percent
limit) for other related program development and implementation activities. Activities planned for the 10
percent category should be included in a separate budget task.
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Sample Format for Budget Description
Budget Categories
(programmatic costs only)
Personnel
Fringe Benefits
Travel
Equipment 1
Supplies
Contractual2
Other (specify)
Total
Cost Share
Project Tasks
Taskl
Task 2
Task 3
Task 4
Total
1 EPA defines equipment as items that cost $5,000 or more with a useful life of more than one year.
Items costing less than $5,000 are considered supplies.
2 Applicants must comply with the procurement procedures contained in 40 CFR 3 1.36, or for
nonprofits, with 40 CFR 30.40.
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clean energy production, eco-industrial development, native landscaping, alternative stormwater
management, and/or others.
3. Describe how this project(s) will stimulate economic development while responding to community
needs, including the creation of jobs, capital investment, and increases to the local tax base.
4. Explain how your community is working to prevent the creation of future brownfields.
5. How does your proposed reuse(s) and your ongoing efforts to prevent the creation of future
brownfields fit into your community's master plan, economic development plan/activities, other
relevant plans/activities, and your ongoing efforts to redevelop brownfields?
D. Creation and/or Preservation of Greenspace/Open Space or Other Nonprofit Purpose (a maximum of 5
points may be received for this criterion)
1. Describe the extent to which the grant would facilitate the creation of, preservation of, or addition to
a park, greenway, undeveloped property, recreational property, or other property used for nonprofit
purposes.
E. Reuse of Existing Infrastructure (a maximum of 5 points may be received for this criterion)
1. Describe whether the project will use existing infrastructure (e.g., existing roads, rail/bus/subway
services, buildings, utility services, sidewalks/pedestrian trails, recreational services, landscaping,
neighborhood centers/institutions) or require its expansion.
F. Community Involvement (a maximum of 15 points may be received for this criterion)
1. Discuss your plan for involving the local community (e.g., neighborhood organizations, citizens'
groups, borrowers, redevelopers, and other stakeholders) in cleanup decisions or reuse planning.
2. Describe your efforts and/or plans to develop partnerships at the local, state, and/or tribal level with
other stakeholders to ensure appropriate and sustainable cleanup and redevelopment of
brownfields.
3. Describe the specific means by which you will communicate the progress of your project to citizens,
including plans for communicating in languages indigenous to the community.
4. Provide a list of the community-based organizations involved and a contact person, phone number,
and a brief description of the organization's activities and representation (these organizations may
include, but are not limited to, local citizen groups, environmental organizations, civic organizations,
local business groups and institutions, educational institutions, and local labor organizations).
Note: EPA may conduct reference checks to ensure that organizations identified are supportive
and involved with the brownfields project. EPA encourages early community notification and
continuing community involvement.
G. Reduction of Threats to Human Health and the Environment (a maximum of 10 points may be received
for this criterion)
1. Describe how the funds will be used to address/facilitate the identification and/or reduction of
threats to human health and the environment within the target area (including cancer, asthma, or birth
defects) that may be associated with exposure to hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants, or
petroleum.
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2. Describe whether you are working with your state or tribal environmental authority and/or local
public health department to ensure that public health issues are considered during the redevelopment
process.
3. Describe the proposed cleanup plan for the site and the estimated costs to complete the cleanup.
H. Leveraging of Additional Resources (a maximum of 15 points may be received for this criterion)
1. Describe the financial needs for each phase of the project (cleanup and redevelopment), if known.
2. Identify the funds (e.g., general revenues, tax increment financing (TIP), staff time/in-kind) that your
agency/organization has committed or will commit to meet the needs described above.
3. Describe all other funding sources (federal, state, nonprofit, or private) that will be committed to fill
in any remaining funding gaps to ensure the success of this project.
I. Ability to Manage Grants (a maximum of 10 points may be received for this criterion)
1. Describe your ability to manage this grant or describe the system(s) you have in place to hire the
requisite expertise.
2. Describe your history of managing federal funds generally. You must identify and provide ft)
information regarding the status of any adverse audit findings from an OMB Circular A-133 audit,
an audit conducted by a federal, state, tribal, or local government inspector general or similar
organization, or audits conducted by the U.S. General Accounting Office. You also must note
whether you are, or have previously been, required to comply with special "high risk" terms and
conditions under agency regulations implementing OMB Circular A-102.
3. If you are, or have been, a recipient of an EPA Brownfields cooperative agreement(s), provide
information regarding your compliance with quarterly progress reports, brownfields reporting
measures, and annual financial status reporting.
4. If you are a current recipient of an EPA Brownfields cooperative agreement(s), indicate the year of
award and amount of funds remaining.
5. If you are a current recipient of an EPA Brownfields cooperative agreement(s), highlight significant
accomplishments generated through the use of the funds.
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EPA Regional Brownfields
Coordinators
Regions and States
EPA Region 1
Lynne Jennings
EPA Region 2
Larry D'Andrea
EPA Region 3
JeffBarnett
EPA Region 4
Mickey Hartnett
EPA Region 5
Deborah Orr
EPA Region 6
Dorothy Crawford
EPA Region 7
Susan Klein
EPA Region 8
KathieAtencio
EPA Region 9
Jim Hanson
EPA Region 10
Tim Brincefield
CT,ME,MA,
NH,RI,VT
NJ, NY, PR, VI
DE,DC,MD,
PA,VA,WV
AL,FL,GA,KY,
MS,NC,SC,TN
IL,IN,MI,
MN,OH,WI
AR,LA,NM,
OK,TX
IA,KS,MO,NE
CO,MT,ND,
SD,UT,WY
AZ,CA,ffl,
NV,AS,GU
AK,D),OR,WA
Address and Phone Number
One Congress Street
Boston, MA 021 14-2023
Phone (617) 918-1210 Fax (617) 918-1291
jennings.lynne @ epa.gov
290 Broadway, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10007
Phone (212) 63743 14 Fax (212) 6374360
dandrea.larry@epa.gov
1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Phone (215) 814-3246 Fax (215) 814-5518
barnettjeff @ epa.gov
Atlanta Federal Center, 61 Forsyth Street
Atlanta, GA 30303
Phone (404) 562-8661 Fax (404) 562-8628
hartnettmickey @ epa.gov
77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60604-3507
Phone (312) 886-7576 Fax (312) 886-7190
orr.deborah @ epa.gov
1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 1200 (6SF-PB), Dallas, TX 75202-2733
Phone (214) 665-2739 Fax (214) 665-6660
crawford.dorothy @ epa.gov
901 N. 5th Street, Kansas City, KS 66101
Phone (913) 551-7786 Fax (913) 551-8688
klein.susan @ epa.gov
999 18th Street, Suite 300 (EPR-B), Denver, CO 80202-2406
Phone (303) 312-6803 Fax (303) 312-6955
atencio.kathie@epa.gov
75 Hawthorne Street, SFD 1-1, San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone (415) 972-3188 Fax (415) 947-3528
hanson.jim@epa.gov
1200 Sixth Avenue (ECL-112), Seattle, WA 98101
Phone (206) 553-2100 Fax (206) 553-0124
brincefield.timothy @ epa.gov
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Prohibitions on Use of Funds
Grant funds may not be used for the payment of:
A penalty or fine.
A federal cost-share requirement (for example, a cost share required by
other federal funds).
An administrative cost (see below).
A response cost at a brownfield site for which the recipient of the grant or loan is potentially liable under
CERCLA§107.
A cost of compliance with any federal law, excluding the cost of compliance with laws applicable to the
cleanup.
Unallowable costs (e.g., lobbying and fund raising) under OMB Circulars A-21, A-87, or A-122, as
applicable.
Administrative Cost Prohibition
The Brownfields Law prohibits the use of any "part of a grant or loan" for the payment of an administrative
cost. In implementing this prohibition, EPA has made a distinction between prohibited administrative costs
and eligible programmatic costs.
A. Administrative Costs. Prohibited administrative costs are direct costs, including those in the form of
salaries, benefits, contractual costs, supplies, and data processing charges, incurred to comply with most
provisions of the Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants contained in 40 CFR Part 30 or
40 CFR Part 31. Direct costs for grant administration are ineligible even if the grantee or subgrantee is
required to carry out the activity under the grant agreement. Prohibited administrative costs also are all
indirect costs under OMB Circulars A-21, A-87, and A-122, and Subpart 31.2 of the Federal
Acquisition Regulation.
B. Statutory Exclusions. The administrative cost prohibition does not apply to direct costs for:
1. Investigation and identification of the extent of contamination;
2. Design and performance of a response action; or
3. Monitoring of a natural resource.
C. Programmatic Costs. EPA has determined that the administrative cost prohibition does not apply to
"programmatic" costs, i.e., costs for activities that are integral to achieving the purpose of the grant,
even if EPA considered the costs to be "administrative" under the prior brownfields program. For
example, the prohibition does not apply, under a revolving loan fund grant, to costs incurred in making
loans (such as the costs of loan processing, legal fees, and professional services) or overseeing the
borrower's activities to ensure compliance with relevant and appropriate requirements of the National
Contingency Plan (see 40 CFR §300.700 etseq.\ These costs are programmatic, not administrative.
Direct costs, as defined in the applicable OMB Cost Principle Circular, for the following programmatic
activities are not subject to the administrative cost prohibition:
1. In the case of grants for site characterization and assessment, expenses for inventorying,
characterizing, assessing, and conducting planning related to brownfield sites.
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2. In the case of grants for capitalization of revolving loan funds:
a) expenses for making and managing loans;
b) expenses, including financial management expenses, for operating the revolving fund; and
c) expenses for making and managing subgrants under CERCLA § 104(k)(3)(B)(ii).
3. In the case of grants for direct use by eligible entities and nonprofit organizations in remediation of
brownfield sites under CERCLA § 104(k)(3)(A)(ii), expenses for site remediation activities.
4. In the case of grants for implementation of brownfields programs under CERCLA § 104(k)(6),
expenses for providing training, research, and technical assistance.
5. Costs incurred for complying with procurement provisions of 40 CFR Part 30 and 31 are
considered eligible programmatic costs only if the procurement contract is for services or products
that are direct costs for performing activities specified above in Section B, "Statutory Exclusions,"
or Section C, "Programmatic Costs."
6. Costs for performance and financial reporting required under 40 CFR 30.51 and 30.52, and 40
CFR 31.40 and 31.41 are eligible programmatic costs. Performance and financial reporting are
essential programmatic tools for both the recipient and EPA to ensure that grants are carried out in
accordance with statutory and regulatory requirements.
Eligible programmatic costs can include expenses for travel, training, equipment, supplies, reference
materials, and contractual support if those costs are reasonable and allocable to tasks specified in a
grantee's approved scope of work for carrying out the activities described in Section B, "Statutory
Exclusions," or Section C, "Programmatic Costs."
Eligible programmatic costs may be used to help meet the RLF capitalization grant and direct cleanup grant
recipients' 20 percent cost share. Prohibited administrative costs may not be used to meet recipients' cost
share.
For further information on these prohibitions, contact your Regional Brownfields Coordinator listed in
Appendix 1.
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Guidance on Sites Eligible for
Brownfields Funding Under
CERCLA§104(k)
Contents Page
3.1 Introduction 42
3.2 General Definition of Brownfield Site 42
3.3 Additional Areas Specifically Eligible for Funding 42
3.3.1 Contamination by Controlled Substance 42
3.3.2 Contamination by Petroleum or Petroleum Product 43
3.3.3 Mine-scarred Lands 44
3.4 Particular Classes of Sites Not Eligible for Funding or Eligible Only Under
Property-Specific Determinations 45
3.4.1 Facilities Subject to CERCLA Removal Actions 47
3.4.2 Facilities Subject to Unilateral Administrative Orders, Court Orders, Administrative
Orders on Consent, or Judicial Consent Decrees Issued to or Entered into by
Parties Under CERCLA 48
3.4.3 Facilities Listed (or Proposed for Listing) on the National Priorities List 48
3.4.4 Facilities to which a permit has been issued by the United States or an authorized
state under the Solid Waste Disposal Act (RCRA), the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, or the Safe Drinking Water Act 48
3.4.5 RCRASites 49
3.4.6 Land disposal units that have filed a closure notification under Subtitle C of RCRA
and to which closure requirements have been specified in a closure plan or permit 50
3.4.7 Facilities that are subject to the jurisdiction, custody, or control of the United
States government 50
3.4.8 Sites Contaminated with PCBs 51
3.4.9 Exclusion of LUST Trust Fund Sites 52
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3.1 Introduction
The information provided in this appendix should be used by applicants as a guide in determining the
eligibility of any property for brownfields funding. The following guidance provides EPA's preliminary views
on the types of sites that may be appropriate for funding. EPA is providing this information as guidance to
applicants to assist you in developing your proposals for funding under CERCLA § 104(k). This guidance
provides preliminary interpretations and policy guidance that EPA intends to use as a guide when we
exercise our authority to award funds under § 104(k). However, we believe that further development may
impact our view of these provisions, and we will reevaluate our preliminary views in light of the factual
information we receive with each proposal, as well as over the course of implementing the § 104(k) grant
program.
This guidance does not impose legally-binding requirements. Applicants are free to raise questions about
the appropriateness of these preliminary views, and EPA will consider whether these preliminary views are
appropriate at that time. Any decision by EPA to apply this preliminary guidance will be made based on the
applicable statutory provisions.
3.2 General Definition of Brownfield Site
The new Brownfields Law defines a "Brownfield Site" to mean:
"...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."
Brownfield sites include all "real property," including residential, as well as commercial and industrial
properties.
3.3 Additional Areas Specifically Eligible for Funding
The Brownfields Law identifies three types of properties that are specifically eligible for funding:
1. Sites contaminated by controlled substances.
2. Sites contaminated by petroleum or a petroleum product.
3. Mine-scarred lands.
See below for guidance on determining the scope of each of these three types of sites. Applicants should
identify properties included within their funding proposals that fall within the scope of any of the following
three areas.
3.3.1 Contamination by Controlled Substance
Sites eligible for funding include real property, including residential property, that is contaminated by a
controlled substance. A "controlled substance" is defined under the Controlled Substances Act as "a drug
or other substance, or immediate precursor, included in schedule I, II, III, IV, or V of part B of this title (21
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USC Section 812). The term does not include distilled spirits, wine, malt beverages, or tobacco..."
For example, sites eligible for brownfields funding may include private residences, formerly used for the
manufacture and/or distribution of methamphetamines or other illegal drugs where there is a presence or
potential presence of controlled substances or pollutants, contaminants, or hazardous substances (e.g., red
phosphorous, kerosene, acids).
3.3.2 Contamination by Petroleum or Petroleum Product
Petroleum-contaminated sites (except those sites receiving LUST trust fund monies) may be eligible for
brownfields funding if the applicant can provide information that will enable EPA or the state to make certain
statutory determinations, as described in Appendix 4. (EPA will make the statutory determinations for
tribes). Petroleum-contaminated sites (or portions of properties contaminated with petroleum) that are
eligible for brownfields funding include certain sites that are not underground storage tank (UST) sites as
described below. Petroleum is defined under CERCLA as "crude oil or any fraction thereof which is not
otherwise specifically listed or designated as a hazardous substance under that section."
For a petroleum contaminated site(s) that otherwise meets the definition of a brownfields site to be eligible
for funding, EPA or the state must determine:
1. the site is of' 'relatively low risk'' compared with other' 'petroleum-only'' sites in the state; and
2. there is no viable responsible party; and
3. funding will be used by a party that is not potentially liable for the petroleum contamination to
assess, investigate, or clean up the site.
In addition, petroleum-contaminated sites must not be subject to a corrective action order under the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) §9003(h).
With the exception of Tribes, applicants must first request that their state make these determinations. If the
state is unable to make the determinations in time to meet the application deadline, the applicant may request
that EPA make the determinations. The applicant must make this request to EPA no later than 2 weeks
prior to the application deadline.
In the case of proposals that include requests for an assessment or direct cleanup grant to address
petroleum-contaminated sites, applicants must provide information in their proposal indicating whether the
site meets each of the criteria listed above. If EPA awards an applicant a revolving loan fund grant, the state
or EPA must make the same determinations for site(s) that will be cleaned up under a loan or subgrant.
These criteria are explained below.
Note: A determination by the Administrator or a state under CERCLA section 101(39)(D) for the
purpose of brownfields funding does not release any party from obligations under the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act, the Clean Water Act, the Oil Pollution Act, the Safe Drinking
Water Act, the Clean Air Act, or any other federal or state statute or regulation, or under the
common law.
"Relatively Low Risk":
Applicants whose brownfield site(s) include properties or portions of properties contaminated with
petroleum or petroleum products must provide information in their proposal indicating that the property
represents a relatively low risk (compared to other petroleum-only sites). Our preliminary view is that
the following types of petroleum-contaminated sites are high risk sites, or are not of "relatively low risk."
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Our preliminary view is that petroleum-contaminated sites that do not fall within the scope of high risk
sites will be considered to be "relatively low-risk" sites.
' 'High risk'' sites currently being cleaned up using LUST trust fund monies.
Any petroleum-contaminated site that currently is subject to a response under the Oil Pollution Act
(OPA).
Note: Any site that does not fall under any of the provisions listed above would be considered to be of
relatively low risk for purposes of determining eligibility for a brownfields grant.
"A Site for Which There is No Viable Responsible Party"
EPA or the state is required to determine that there is no "viable responsible party" that can address the
petroleum contamination at the site. This determination is based on both viability and responsibility. If
EPA or the state identifies a viable responsible party, then EPA cannot make the grant.
Solely for the purpose of EPA's awarding of a Brownfields petroleum grant, a viable party exists if, at
the time EPA awards the grant, ALL of the following factors are present:
(1) a party is subject to either:
(a) a judgment rendered in a court of law or an administrative order issued by an administrative
body that would require that party to assess, investigate, or clean up the site; or
(b) a filed enforcement action brought by federal or state authorities, or is party to a citizen suit, that
would, if successful, require that party to assess, investigate, or clean up the site;
and
(2) that party is financially capable of satisfying obligations under federal or state law to assess,
investigate or clean up the site. For example, an insolvent or defunct corporation will generally not
have the financial capacity to satisfy its obligations. See existing EPA policies on the financial ability
to pay at: www.epa.gov/compliance/civil/programs/econmodels.
"Cleaned Up by a Person Not Potentially Liable":
Brownfields funding may be awarded to eligible entities for the assessment and clean up of petroleum-
contaminated sites in those instances where the eligible entity has not caused or contributed to the
petroleum contamination. When responding to the threshold criteria in their funding proposals,
applicants are asked to indicate whether or not the applicant owns the site or sites for which funding is
requested and describe whether the applicant caused or contributed to the petroleum contamination or
other environmental concerns at the site(s).
"Is not subject to any order issued under §9003(h) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act":
Proposals that include requests for an assessment or direct cleanup grant to address petroleum-
contaminated sites must not be subject to a corrective action order under a Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA) §9003(h). If EPA awards an applicant a revolving loan fund grant, the state or
EPA must make the same determination for site(s) that will be cleaned up under a loan or subgrant.
3.3.3 Mine-scarred Lands
Under the new Brownfields Law, mine-scarred lands are eligible for brownfields funding. Applicants for
brownfields funding that include properties within their proposal that they believe fall within the following
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definition of mine-scarred lands are encouraged to provide in the site description section of their proposals
information identifying and describing such properties.
EPA's preliminary view is that "mine-scarred lands" are those lands, associated waters, and surrounding
watersheds where extraction, beneficiation, or processing of ores and minerals (including coal) has
occurred. For the purposes of this section, the definition of extraction, beneficiation, and processing is the
definition found at 40 CFR 261.4(b)(7).
Mine-scarred lands include abandoned coal mines and lands scarred by strip mining.
Examples of coal mine-scarred lands may include, but are not limited to:
abandoned surface coal mine areas,
abandoned deep coal mines,
abandoned coal processing areas,
abandoned coal refuse areas,
acid or alkaline mine drainage, and
associated waters affected by abandoned coal mine (or acid mine) drainage or runoff, including stream
beds and adjacent watersheds.
Examples of non-coal hard rock mine-scarred lands may include, but are not limited to:
abandoned surface and deep mines,
abandoned waste rock or spent ore piles,
abandoned roads constructed wholly or partially of waste rock or spent ore,
abandoned tailings, disposal ponds, or piles,
abandoned ore concentration mills,
abandoned smelters,
abandoned cyanide heap leach piles,
abandoned dams constructed wholly or partially of waste rock, tailings, or spent ore,
abandoned dumps or dump areas used for the disposal of waste rock or spent ore,
acid or alkaline rock drainage, and
waters affected by abandoned metal mine drainage or runoff, including stream beds and adjacent
watersheds.
3.4 Particular Classes of Sites Not Eligible for Funding or
Eligible Only Under Property-Specific Determinations
EPA excludes the following types of facilities from funding eligibility unless the applicant fulfills the
requirements for demonstrating that the site meets the criteria for a property-specific determination for
funding (see Appendix 4 Guidance for Requests for Property-Specific Determinations for Funding).
Applicants are encouraged to indicate within the site description section of their proposal if any site or
property included within the scope of their funding proposal falls within the scope of any of the categories of
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sites listed below. When requesting a property-specific determination for funding, applicants should follow
the instructions provided in Appendix 4 for indicating that brownfields funding at such sites will ensure
protection of human health and the environment and promote economic development or the creation or
preservation of greenspace or recreational areas. (Note: The following discusses limitations on funding
particular classes of sites. Many of these limitations reflect policy decisions. Where the limitations are based
on statutory provisions, we have noted that.)
Also, please note that in providing funding for brownfield sites, and given that a limited amount of funding is
available for brownfields grants, EPA's goal is to not provide brownfields funding to sites where EPA has a
planned or ongoing enforcement action. While EPA does not intend that the existence of a planned or
ongoing enforcement action will necessarily disqualify a site from receipt of brownfields funding, EPA does
believe it is necessary that EPA be aware of the existence of any such action in making funding decisions.
As a result, EPA will conduct an investigation to evaluate whether a site is, or will be, subject to an
enforcement action under CERCLA or other federal environmental statutes. EPA is requesting that
applicants identify ongoing or anticipated environmental enforcement actions related to the brownfield site
for which funding is sought.
The Brownfields Law also excludes three types of properties from funding eligibility and does not allow
EPA the opportunity to provide funding for these properties after making a property-specific determination.
These three types of properties include: 1) sites listed on the NPL, 2) facilities subject to unilateral
administrative orders, court orders, administrative orders on consent or judicial consent decrees issued to or
entered into by parties under CERCLA, and 3) facilities that are subject to the jurisdiction, custody, or
control of the United States government.
Sites Not Eligible for Funding Without a Property-Specific Determination
1. Facilities subject to planned or ongoing CERCLA removal actions.
2. Facilities that are subject to unilateral administrative orders, court orders, administrative orders on
consent or judicial consent decrees or to which a permit has been issued by the United States or an
authorized state under the Solid Waste Disposal Act (as amended by the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA)), the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA), the Toxic Substances
Control Act (TSCA), or the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).
3. Facilities subject to corrective action orders under RCRA (sections 3004(u) or 3008(h)) and to which a
corrective action permit or order has been issued or modified to require the implementation of
corrective measures.
4. Facilities that are land disposal units that have filed a closure notification under subtitle C of RCRA and
to which closure requirements have been specified in a closure plan or permit.
5. Facilities where there has been a release of poly chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and are subject to
remediation under TSCA.
6. Portions of facilities for which funding for remediation has been obtained from the Leaking Underground
Storage Tank (LUST) Trust Fund.
Guidance regarding the scope of each of the funding restrictions listed above is provided below.
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Sites Not Eligible for Brownfields Funding and Not Eligible for a Property-Specific
Determination
1. Facilities listed (or proposed for listing) on the National Priorities List (NPL).
2. Facilities subject to unilateral administrative orders, court orders, administrative orders on consent, or
judicial consent decrees issued to or entered into by parties under CERCLA.
3. Facilities that are subject to the jurisdiction, custody, or control of the United States government.
(NOTE: Land held in trust by the United States government for an Indian tribe is eligible for brownfield
funding.)
3.4.1 Facilities Subject to CERCLA Removal Actions
Properties (including parcels of properties) where there are removal actions may not receive funding, unless
EPA makes a property-specific determination of funding eligibility.
EPAs preliminary view is that a removal may be identified by the occurrence of one of the following events,
whichever occurs first in time: EPA issues an action memo; EPA issues an EE/CA approval memo; EPA
mobilizes onsite; or EPA issues a notice of federal interest to one or more potentially responsible parties
(PRP(s)), which in emergencies may be made verbally.
Our preliminary view is that, for the purposes of eligibility to receive brownfields funding, and for no other
reason, a removal is complete when the actions specified in the action memorandum are met, or when the
contractor has demobilized and left the site (as documented in the "pollution report" or POLREP). Once a
removal action is complete, a property is eligible for brownfields funding without having to obtain a
property-specific funding determination. Applicants applying for brownfields funding for sites at which
removal actions are complete must include documentation of the action being complete with their funding
proposal.
Parcels of facilities not affected by removal action at the same property may apply for brownfields funding
and may be eligible for brownfields funding on a property-specific basis. Property-specific funding decisions
will be made in coordination with the on-scene coordinator (OSC) to ensure that all removals and cleanup
activities at the property are conducted in safe and protective manners and to ensure that the OSC retains
the ability to address all risks and contamination.
Please note that if a federal brownfields-funded site assessment results in identifying the need for a new
removal action, the grantee may continue to expend assessment grant funds on additional assessment
activities. However, any additional expenditure of federal brownfield funds and any additional site
assessment activities should be conducted in coordination with the OSC for the site.
Any property or site where there are removal actions may be eligible for brownfields funding if a grant or
loan applicant can demonstrate that brownfields funding will ensure protection of human health and the
environment and promote economic development, or the preservation of green space. EPA will consider
providing funding to an eligible entity for assessment or cleanup activities at the site, on a property-specific
basis (see guidance on documenting eligibility for property-specific funding determinations provided in
Appendix 4).
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3.4.2 Facilities Subject to Unilateral Administrative Orders,
Court Orders, Administrative Orders on Consent, or Judicial
Consent Decrees Issued to or Entered into by Parties Under
CERCLA
Sites subject to administrative orders, court orders, and consent or judicial consent decrees issued or
entered into by parties under the provisions of CERCLA are not eligible for funding, even on a property-
specific basis. Therefore, applicants should not include such sites within the scope of their brownfields
funding proposals.
3.4.3 Facilities Listed (or Proposed for Listing) on the National
Priorities List
CERCLA sites listed on the NPL and sites proposed to be listed on the NPL are not eligible for
brownfields funding. In addition, these sites are not eligible for funding on a property-specific basis.
Therefore, applicants should not include proposed or listed NPL sites within the scope of brownfields
funding proposals.
3.4.4 Facilities to which a permit has been issued by the United
States or an authorized state under the Solid Waste Disposal
Act (RCRA), the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the Toxic
Substances Control Act, or the Safe Drinking Water Act
Generally, in cases where a property or a portion of a property is permitted under the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act, Section § 1321 of the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and/
or the Toxic Substances and Control Act, the property, or portion of the property, may not receive funding,
without a property-specific determination. Therefore, applicants should review the following guidance
regarding which types of permitted facilities may not receive funding unless EPA makes a property-specific
determination to provide funding. Applicants should note that the exclusion for permitted facilities does not
extend to facilities with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits issued under the
authorities of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, but is limited to facilities issued permits under the
authorities of the Oil Pollution Act (i.e., §1321 of FWPCA).
In cases where one or more portions of a property are not eligible for funding, the applicant should identify
the specific permit and situation that causes the property to be excluded. In addition, the applicant must
include, within the proposal, documentation that federal brownfields funding for the assessment or clean up
of the property will further the goals established for property-specific funding determinations (see attached
guidance on property-specific funding determinations).
Any property or site that has been issued a permit under the federal environmental statutes listed above (and
in accordance with any additional guidelines provided in Appendix 4) may be eligible for brownfields
funding if a grant or loan applicant can demonstrate that brownfields funding will ensure protection of human
health and the environment and promote economic development or the preservation of greenspace. EPA
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will consider providing funding to an eligible entity for assessment or cleanup activities at the site, on a
property-specific basis (see guidance on documenting eligibility for property-specific funding determinations
provided in Appendix 4}.
In some cases, a facility may not have a permit or order because they are not in compliance with federal or
state environmental laws requiring that they obtain a permit or the facility has failed to notify EPA of their
regulatory status. Such facilities are not eligible for brownfields funding. For example, a RCRA treatment
unit operator is required to obtain a permit and/or notify EPA of its operation. An operator that fails to fulfill
those obligations will likely not have a permit or order as EPA will be unaware of their existence. Therefore,
it is EPAs preliminary view that such facilities are ineligible to receive brownfields funds as a result of their
failure to comply with a basic regulatory requirement. Additional guidance on the eligibility of RCRA-
permitted facilities, including facilities under administrative or court orders, including corrective action
orders, is provided in Appendix 4.
3.4.5 RCRA Sites
Excluded RCRA Facilities
EPAs preliminary view is that the following types of RCRA facilities may not receive funding without a
property-specific determination:
a. RCRA-permittedfacilities.
b. RCRA interim status facilities with administrative orders requiring the facility to conduct corrective
action or otherwise address contamination, including facilities with orders issued under the authorities of
RCRA §3008(a), §3008(h), §3013, and §7003.
c. Facilities under court order or under an administrative order on consent or judicial consent decree under
RCRA or CERCLA that require the facility to conduct corrective action or otherwise address
contamination at the facility.
d. Land disposal units that have notified EPA or an authorized state of their intent to close and have closure
requirements specified in closure plans or permits.
However, if a grant or loan applicant is requesting a grant for property that is excluded, the applicant may
still be eligible for a brownfields grant if the applicant can demonstrate that funding will ensure protection of
human health and the environment and promote economic development or the preservation of greenspace.
EPA will consider providing funding to an applicant for assessment or cleanup activities at such a site on a
property-specific basis (see guidance on documenting eligibility for property-specific funding determinations
in Appendix 4).
RCRA Facilities that are Eligible for Funding
EPAs preliminary view is that the following types of RCRA facilities would not fall within the scope of the
exclusion and would be eligible for funding:
a. RCRA interim status facilities that are not subject to any administrative or judicial order or consent
decree;
b. RCRA interim status facilities that are subject to administrative or judicial orders that do not include
corrective action requirements or any other cleanup provisions (e.g., RCRA §3008(a) orders without
provisions requiring the owner/operator to address contamination); and
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c. Parcels of RCRA facilities that are not under the scope of a RCRA permit or administrative or judicial
order.
In addition, any property or site that has been issued a permit under RCRA may be eligible for brownfields
funding if a grant or loan applicant can demonstrate that brownfields funding will ensure protection of human
health and the environment and promote economic development or the preservation of green space. EPA
will consider providing funding to an eligible entity for assessment or cleanup activities at the site on a
property-specific basis (see guidance on documenting eligibility for property-specific funding determinations
provided in Appendix 4).
3.4.6 Land disposal units that have filed a closure notification
under Subtitle C of RCRA and to which closure requirements
have been specified in a closure plan or permit.
RCRA hazardous waste landfills that have submitted closure notifications, as required under 40 CFR
264.112(d) or 265.112(d), generally will not be funded. This may include permitted facilities that have filed
notification of closure and for which EPA and/or an authorized state is proceeding with final closure
requirements for the facility. For interim status facilities, this is done through approval of a closure plan
submitted with closure notification; for permitted facilities, this is routinely done as a modification to the
permit, requested by the facility at the time of closure notification.
Please note that RCRA hazardous waste landfills that have submitted closure notifications may be eligible
for brownfields funding if a grant or loan applicant can demonstrate that brownfields funding will ensure
protection of human health and the environment and promote economic development or the preservation of
green space. EPA will consider providing funding to an eligible entity for assessment or cleanup activities at
the site on a property-specific basis (see guidance on documenting eligibility for property-specific funding
determinations provided in Appendix 4}.
3.4.7 Facilities that are subject to the jurisdiction, custody, or
control of the United States government.
Facilities owned by, or under the custody or control of the federal government are not eligible for
brownfields funding, even on a property-specific basis. EPAs preliminary view is that this exclusion may not
extend to:
a. Privately-owned, Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS);
b. Privately-owned, Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) properties; and
c. Other former federal properties that have been disposed of by the U.S. government.
Also note that land held in trust by the United States government for an Indian tribe is not excluded
from funding eligibility.
Also note that eligibility for brownfields funding does not alter a private owner's ability to cost recover from
the federal government in cases where the previous federal government owner remains liable for
environmental damages.
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3.4.8 Sites Contaminated with PCBs
The Brownfields Law excludes from funding eligibility portions of facilities where there has been a release of
PCBs that are subject to remediation under TSCA.
except where EPA has initiated an involuntary action with any person to address PCB contamination. Also,
it is our preliminary view that all portions of properties are eligible for cleanup and RLF grants, except
where EPA has an ongoing action against a disposer to address PCB contamination.
Therefore, portions of properties that are excluded from funding eligibility include those portions of
properties where:
There is a release (or disposal) of any waste meeting the definition of "PCB remediation waste" at 40
CFR761.3;a«
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3.4.9 Exclusion of LUST Trust Fund Sites
The Brownfields Law excludes from eligibility for funding (unless EPA makes a property-specific
determination for funding) those sites (or portions of properties) for which assistance for response activity
has been obtained under Subtitle I of RCRA from the LUST trust fund. EPA's preliminary view is that this
provision may exclude:
a. UST sites where money is being spent on actual assessment and/or clean up of UST/petroleum
contamination.
However, in cases where an UST site is located in a state where the state agency has used LUST trust fund
money for state program oversight activities but has not expended LUST trust funds for specific assessment
and/or cleanup activities at the site, the site would not necessarily be excluded from eligibility for
brownfields funding.
Such sites may receive brownfields funding on a property-specific basis, if it is determined that brownfields
funding will protect human health and the environment and the funding will promote economic development
or enable the creation of, preservation of, or addition to greenspace (see guidance on documenting eligibility
for property-specific funding determinations provided in Appendix 4).
Examples of "excluded" sites (i.e., sites receiving LUST trust fund monies) we would consider to
be good candidates to receive brownfields grants or loans:
a. All USTfields pilots (50 pilots).
b. Sites (or portions of properties) where an assessment was completed using LUST trust fund monies
and the state has determined that the site is a low-priority UST site and therefore additional LUST trust
fund money cannot be provided for the clean up of petroleum contamination, but the site still needs
some clean up and otherwise is a good candidate for economic revitalization.
c. Sites (or portions of properties) where LUST trust fund money was spent for emergency activities, but
then the site was determined to be ineligible for further expenditures of LUST trust funds, yet the site
needs additional funding for continued assessment and/or clean up that will contribute to economic
revitalization of the site.
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Guidance for Requests for
Property-Specific
Determinations for Funding
Contents
Page
4.1 Overview 54
4.2 Funding Limitations 54
4.3 Criteria for Determining Eligibility for Funding on a Property-Specific Basis 55
4.3.1 Protection of Human Health and the Environment 56
4.3.2 Promote Economic Development 57
4.3.3 Creation of, Preservation of, or Addition to Parks, Greenways, Undeveloped
Property, other Recreational Property, or Other Property Used for
Nonprofit Purposes 57
4.3.4 Other Documentation 58
4.4 Properties Not Eligible for Brownfields Funding 58
4.5 Additional Information on Potential for Continual Funding at Sites Subject to
Removal Actions 58
4.6 Additional Information on Potential Funding for Petroleum-Contaminated Sites 59
4.7 Eligible Response Sites/Enforcement Limits 60
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4.1 Overview
Grant applicants must determine if any of the properties, or facilities, included in their proposal require a
property-specific determination. A list of the categories of facilities that are only eligible for funding via a
property-specific determination is provided below.
If an applicant includes within the scope of a grant proposal a facility that requires a property-specific
funding determination, the proposal must include, on a separate page, the following information (to the
extent this information replicates information requested elsewhere in the proposal, the applicant may directly
copy the text to this page):
1. Basic site identification information and eligible entity identification information.
2. The specific circumstance that requires the grantee to request a property-specific determination (from
the list in Section 3.4 of Appendix 3).
3. A short explanation of why the site falls within the identified circumstance requiring the property-specific
funding determination.
4. An explanation of how providing brownfields funding for the site will meet the criteria necessary for
making a property-specific funding determination Section 4.3.
5. The degree to which other funding is or is not available for the assessment or clean up of the site.
6. A explanation of whether or not the applicant is responsible for the contamination at a site.
The information provided will be used in making a property-specific determination for funding purposes,
which will take place during the proposal evaluation process.
4.2 Funding Limitations
Although the statutory definition of "brownfield site" is broad, Congress limited the extent to which
brownfields funding may be provided to eligible entities to assess and clean up sites that are being addressed
under other federal programs. In addition, the Brownfields Law prohibits the use of grant and loan funds for
the payment of response costs at sites for which the funding recipient of the grant or loan is potentially liable
under § 107 of CERCLA6. (See Appendix 2 for additional prohibitions on the use of brownfields funding.)
The types of properties that Congress excluded from the definition of a brownfield site are listed below.
However, certain types of properties listed below as excluded from the definition of a brownfield site, may
still qualify for brownfields funding. The types of properties marked with an asterisk (*) below are eligible
for brownfields funding if a property-specific determination is made that funding for assessment or cleanup
activities will meet the criteria set forth in the statute and meet the goals and criteria of the brownfields
program.
Properties subject to planned or ongoing removal actions under CERCLA. *
Properties currently listed, or proposed to be listed, on the NPL.
6 Applicants also should note that the Brownfields Law contains other prohibitions on the use of grant and
loan monies, including the use of grant and loan monies for paying penalties, administrative costs, federal
cost-share requirements, and the cost of complying with any federal law (see §101(k)(4)(B)).
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Properties that include facilities subject to a unilateral administrative order, a court order, an administrative
order on consent, or a judicial consent decree under CERCLA.
Properties with facilities that have been issued or entered into a unilateral administrative order, a court
order, an administrative order on consent, or judicial consent decree or to which a permit has been issued
by the U.S. or an authorized state under RCRA, FWPCA, TSCA, or SDWA.*
Properties with facilities subject to RCRA corrective action (§3004(u) or §3008(h)) to which a
corrective action permit or order has been issued or modified to require the implementation of corrective
measures.*
Properties that are land disposal units that have submitted a RCRA closure notification or that are subject
to closure requirements specified in a closure plan or permit.*
Properties that are subject to the jurisdiction, custody, or control of a department, agency, or
instrumentality of the U.S., except for land held in trust for an Indian tribe.
Properties where there has been a release of PCBs and all or part of the property is subject to TSCA
remediation.*
Properties that include facilities receiving monies for clean up from the LUST trust fund. *
* Sites eligible for property-specific funding determinations.
The types of facilities marked with an asterisk above may qualify for brownfields funding if EPA makes a
property-specific determination that brownfields funding will protect human health and the environment and
will either promote economic development or the creation, preservation, or addition to parks, greenways,
undeveloped property, other recreational property, or other property used for nonprofit purposes. A
determination of eligibility for funding will be made by EPA at the time of proposal evaluation based upon
information provided by the applicant.
Grant applicants must determine whether the property or properties that are the subject of their proposal fall
within the scope of one or more of the exclusions listed above. Actual determinations of eligibility or
exclusion will be made by EPA. However, if one or more properties that are the subject of a grant proposal
fall within the scope of any of the types of properties listed above, the grant proposal should specifically
identify the properties, identify the applicable funding exclusion from the list above, and describe why each
property falls within the exclusion (e.g., RCRA permit for hazardous waste storage, CERCLA removal
action on-going.) Descriptions summarizing the scope of each of the exclusions listed above are provided in
Appendix 3 of these guidelines.
4.3 Criteria for Determining Eligibility for Funding on a
Property-Specific Basis
Certain properties that are excluded from funding eligibility because the properties fall within the scope of
the statutory exclusions from the definition of' 'brownfield site" may qualify for brownfields funding if a
property-specific determination is made that the sites meet the goals and criteria of the brownfields program
and the criteria set forth in the statute. The following types of properties, although excluded from the
definition of bro wnfield site above, are eligible for property-specific determinations for brownfields
funding:
1. Properties subject to planned or ongoing removal action under CERCLA.
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2. Properties that include facilities to which a permit has been issued by the U.S. or authorized state under
RCRA, FWPCA, TSCA, or SDWA.
3. Properties that include facilities subject to RCRA orders requiring corrective action (§3004(u) or
§3008(h)).
4. Properties that are land disposal units that have submitted a RCRA closure notification or that are
subject to closure requirements specified in a closure plan or permit.
5. Properties where there has been a release of PCBs and all or part of the property is subject to TSCA
remediation.
6. Properties receiving monies for clean up from the LUST trust fund.
In the case of each type of property listed above, the new legislation allows EPA to award financial
assistance to an eligible entity for assessment or cleanup activities at the property, if it is found that financial
assistance will:
1. Protect human health and the environment, and
2. Either:
- promote economic development, or
- enable the creation of, preservation of, or addition to parks, greenways, undeveloped property,
other recreational property, or other property used for nonprofit purposes.
Grant proposals for brownfields funding that include, within the scope of planned assessment or cleanup
activities, sites, properties, or facilities that potentially fall within any of the funding exclusions listed above,
should specifically identify such circumstances and explain, in as much detail as possible, why the availability
of brownfields funding will protect human health and the environment and promote economic development
or the creation or preservation of greenspace (or other listed objectives). Information provided by the
applicant in addressing these criteria will be used in documenting EPAs decision in making property-specific
determinations for funding eligibility.
4.3.1 Protection of Human Health and the Environment
Grant applicants must provide a detailed discussion of how financial assistance for brownfields assessment
or cleanup activities at each property for which a property-specific determination for funding eligibility must
be made will result in the allocation of funding in accordance with legislative intent. Each proposal for
financial assistance, including a recipient of a revolving loan fund grant seeking EPA approval of loans,
whose proposal includes one or more sites for which a property-specific determination must be made must
Documentation supporting a determination that brownfields funding will ensure protection of human health
and the environment should include documentation of one or more of the following:
1. Specific examples of human health risks that will be mitigated by activities funded under a brownfields
grant.
2. Specific environmental improvements that can reasonably be expected to result from activities funded
under a brownfields grant.
3. Specific examples of contamination that will be addressed, including the specific hazardous substances,
pollutants, or contaminants of concern and the environmental media that will be addressed.
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4. Description of how the proposed clean up and redevelopment of the property will ensure that the
property will be protective of human health and the environment and that the remedy will be both
protective and consistent with the planned reuse of the property.
4.3.2 Promote Economic Development
Applicants also must provide detail on how financial assistance will promote economic development or the
creation of, preservation of, or addition to parks, greenways, undeveloped property, other recreational
property, or other property used for nonprofit purposes. Documentation of economic development activities
should include information such as the following:
A description of economic development activities that can reasonably be expected to occur as a result of
brownfields funding (e.g., number of jobs created, estimated increase in the property and/or profits/sales
tax base to community, additional business expansion or new business relocation that may occur within
the community).
A description of how the redevelopment of the brownfields property will contribute to community-wide
redevelopment and revitalization plans with a specific emphasis on how funding for the brownfields
redevelopment is integral to the success of the community-wide plan.
A description of new businesses or business expansions that are planned for the brownfields property.
4.3.3 Creation of, Preservation of, or Addition to Parks,
Greenways, Undeveloped Property, other Recreational Property,
or Other Property Used for Nonprofit Purposes
If brownfields funding will be used by the applicant to preserve or create greenspace, recreational areas,
undeveloped property, or property to be used for nonprofit purposes, the applicant should provide specific
documentation of these activities in the proposal. Grant proposals should provide specific information
documenting how brownfields funding will result in the creation of, preservation of, or addition to parks,
greenways, undeveloped property, other recreational property, or other property used for nonprofit
purposes, such as:
A description of the proposed park, recreational property, greenspace, undeveloped space, or other type
of property to be used for nonprofit purposes, including size, use, and surrounding environment that will
be preserved or created as a result of brownfields funding.
A description of how the property will be used and by whom.
A description of how the property will be integrated with surrounding properties or environments.
A description of how the property will be maintained or preserved for its continued use as a greenspace,
recreational area, etc.
When documenting compliance with these criteria, applicants may copy information provided elsewhere in
their proposal, if such information directly addresses the criteria. However, all documentation must be
comprehensive and specific to actual events that will be mitigated or can reasonably be expected to occur
as a result of federal brownfields funding, should the applicant receive brownfields funding.
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4.3.4 Other Documentation
Property-specific brownfields funding determinations will be made based upon the availability of funding and
the extent to which applicants can provide documentation that funding for particular sites offers opportunities
to protect human health and the environment and enhance economic development or create or preserve
greenspace (as the criteria is described above). However, at the same time, Congress explicitly prohibited
the use of federal brownfields funding to reimburse liable parties for response costs. The statute prohibits
grant and loan monies from being used for the payment of response costs at brownfields for which the
recipient of a grant or loan is potentially liable (§101 (k)(4)(B)(i)(IV)). Applicants are encouraged to
address, in the body of the proposal, why federal funding is appropriate for brownfields assessment and/or
clean up at the property, given that brownfields funding cannot be used to reimburse liable property owners
for response activity costs.
4.4 Properties Not Eligible for Brownfields Funding
Grant applicants must keep in mind that the legislation excludes certain types of properties from
qualifying for the property-specific funding determinations and therefore from federal brownfields
financial assistance. Properties that may not be included within the scope of a grant proposal and for which
brownfields grants and loans cannot be made available regardless of property-specific circumstances
include properties containing the following types of sites or facilities:
Facilities listed or proposed for listing on the NPL.
Facilities subject to a unilateral administrative order, an administrative order, a court order, an
administrative order on consent, or a judicial consent decree issued or entered into by parties under
CERCLA.
Facilities that are subject to the jurisdiction, custody, or control of the United States government, except
for land held in trust by the U.S. for an Indian Tribe.
Applicants should note that the discussion of property-specific determinations for funding properties that are
otherwise excluded from funding eligibility that is provided here only applies to funding determinations. This
discussion does not apply to, or have bearing on, any other property-specific determinations or other
aspects of the brownfields program. For example, a property-specific determination for funding purposes in
no way affects a facility's or an entity's status with regard to EPA's enforcement and cost recovery
authorities.
4.5 Additional Information on Potential for Continual Funding at
Sites Subject to Removal Actions
Some brownfield sites that receive federal brownfields assessment grants may, as a result of the federally
funded site assessment require a CERCLA removal action. Under the Brownfields Law (§101 (39)(B)(i)),
properties that are subject to planned or on-going removal actions under CERCLA are excluded from
funding eligibility. However, such properties may receive federal brownfields funding if a property-specific
determination is made that such funding will meet the property-specific determination criteria. Applicants
should follow the procedures listed in the previous section to request a property-specific determination.
(Note: If a removal action is required at a property where an assessment grant exists, the grantee does not
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need to obtain the property-specific determination noted above. However, grant recipients must obtain
approval from the EPA removal OSC prior to any onsite work commencing.)
Grant applicants requesting federal brownfields funding and recipients of revolving loan fund grants seeking
EPA approval of loans for properties at which a CERCLA removal action is planned or on-going must
document in their proposals (or loan approval requests) that the requested funding will be used in
accordance with legislative intent. Therefore, proposals must include a discussion of how brownfields grant
or loan funds will ensure protection of human health and the environment and provide detail on how financial
assistance will promote economic development or the creation of, preservation or, or addition to parks,
greenways, undeveloped property, other recreational property, or other property used for nonprofit
purposes. Requests for property-specific determinations for funding for the assessment or clean up of
properties where there is a planned or ongoing removal action will be considered in the following
circumstances: 1) when it is clear a follow-on response action will be required to address long-term threats
at a property; and 2) in cases where portions of a property are not under the current scope of a planned or
ongoing removal action.
In addition to the specific criteria listed above, applicants also should explain in their proposal the extent to
which other funding sources are not available for the assessment and/or clean up of the site or property.
Federal brownfields funding cannot be used to reimburse liable parties for response costs. In addition,
federal brownfields funding may not be used for an ensuing removal action. Applicants should specifically
address, in the body of the proposal, why federal funding is appropriate for brownfields assessment and/or
clean up at the property, given the Congressional intent not to reimburse liable property owners for response
activity costs.
4.6 Additional Information on Potential Funding for
Petroleum-Contaminated Sites
As noted above, portions of properties receiving assistance for response activities from the LUST trust fund
are excluded from eligibility for brownfields funding. However, these facilities are eligible for funding on a
property-specific basis. To assist applicants in determining whether their properties are good candidates for
property-specific funding determinations, below are examples of properties that are excluded from the
definition of a brownfield site (i.e., sites receiving LUST trust fund monies) that EPA considers to be
potentially good candidates to receive brownfields grants or loans under the property-specific determination
provisions (i.e., CERCLA §101(39)(Q).
All USTfields pilots.
Sites (or portions of properties) where an assessment was completed using LUST trust fund monies and
the state has determined that the site is a low-priority UST site and therefore additional LUST trust fund
money cannot be provided for the clean up of petroleum contamination, but the site still needs some clean
up and otherwise is a good candidate for economic revitalization.
Sites (or portions of properties) where LUST trust fund money was spent for emergency activities, and
are otherwise determined to be ineligible for further LUST trust funds, yet the site needs additional
funding for continued assessment and/or clean up that will contribute to economic revitalization of the site.
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4.7 Eligible Response Sites/Enforcement Limits
The Brownfields Law limits EPA's enforcement and cost recovery authorities at "eligible response sites"
where a response action is conducted in compliance with a state response program. Section 101(40) of
CERCLA defines an "eligible response site" by referencing the general definition of a "brownfield site" in
§101(39)(A) and incorporating the exclusions at §101(39)(B). The law places further limitations on the
types of properties included within the definition of an eligible response site, but grants EPA the authority to
include within the definition of eligible response site, and on a property-specific basis, some properties that
are otherwise excluded from the definition. Such property-specific determinations must be based upon a
finding that limits on enforcement will be appropriate, after consultation with state authorities, and will
protect human health and the environment and promote economic development or facilitate the creation of,
preservation, or addition to a park, a greenway, undeveloped property, recreational property, or other
property used for nonprofit purposes. While the criteria appear similar to those for determining eligibility for
funding on a property-specific basis, the determinations are distinct, will be made through a separate
process, and may not be based on the same information requested in this document for property-specific
funding determinations.
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