Petroleum Brownfields INFORMA TION SHEET INTRODUCTION On January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the "Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act" (Public Law 107-118). This law gives communities across the country the tools they need to reclaim and restore thousands of Brownfields sites, including petroleum-contaminated sites. GRANT PROPOSAL GUIDELINES Grant proposal guidelines have been published; see "Proposal Guidelines for Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Grants, " EPA-500-F-02- 142, October 2002. The due date for proposal submission is December 16, 2002. THE NEW BROWNFIELDS LAW The new Brownfields Law allows EPA to award Brownfields grant funds for activities at petroleum-contaminated sites that: EPA or the state determines are of "relatively low-risk" compared with other petroleum-contaminated sites in the state; and EPA or the state determines have no viable responsible party and which will be assessed, investigated, or cleaned up by a person that is not potentially liable for cleaning up the site. In addition, petroleum-contaminated sites must not be subject to a corrective action order under a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) §9003 (h) order. PETROLEUM BROWNFIELDS SNAPSHOT Date of New Law: January 11, 2002 Grants for: Assessment, revolving loan fund, cleanup, and job training Grant Proposal Due Date: December 16, 2002 Definition of a Brownfields Site: "...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." Additional Areas Now Specifically Eligible for Funding: Sites contaminated by petroleum and petroleum products Contacts and Information: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Underground Storage Tanks (OUST) Washington, DC 20460 (703) 603-9900 Visit the EPA OUST website at: http://www.epa.gov/oust/ Visit the EPA Brownfields website at: www.epa.gov/brownfields for further information, including specific EPA Brownfields (more) ------- OTHER PROVISIONS OF THE NEW LAW Expands eligibility for Brownfields funding by broadening the entities eligible for funding for assessment, cleanup, and job training grants. Includes as eligible entities for funding: General purpose units of local government; 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; Governmental entity created by a 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 Alaska; and Alaskan Native Regional Corporation, Native Village Corporation, and Metlakatla Indian Community. NOTE: Nonprofit organizations may apply for cleanup grants. Defines a Brownfields site broadly, but excludes certain sites from funding eligibility unless EPA makes a property- specific determination to fund. Requires a 20 percent cost share for revolving loan fund and cleanup grants. Specifies grant funds cannot be used for administrative costs. PETROLEUM SITE ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATIONS FOR GRANT FUNDING To demonstrate to EPA that a petroleum- contaminated site is eligible for grant funding, you may: Contact a state petroleum program official; and Discuss and resolve the eligibility of a site as a: petroleum-contaminated site that would be a "relatively low-risk" site compared to all of the other petroleum sites in the state, and petroleum- contaminated site for which there is no viable responsible party and which will be assessed, investigated, or cleaned up by a person that is not potentially liable for cleaning up the site. Document the discussion in the grant application (the part that requires a description of the site) by identifying : the state petroleum program official contacted; the date of the contact; the telephone number and address of the contact; a summary of your discussion to reach the above determinations; AND/OR any documentation provided to you by the state. EPA may seek further clarification from the grant applicant or the state. If eligibility information is not provided in the proposal, EPA may contact the state for such a determination of eligibility. In other words, the absence of this information is not per se a disqualification of the applicant. EPA will make determinations of site eligibility for sites on Indian tribal lands. NOTE: If the application is NOT site specific, this process, or something that achieves a similar result, must be engaged in before EPA will approve a grant recipient's cleanup or assessment activities on a particular petroleum- contaminated site. For further information , see pages 18, 22, and 25 of the "Proposal Guidelines for Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Grants, " EPA-500-F-02-142, October 2002, www.epa.gov/brownfields/applicat.htmtfpg. Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5401 G) EPA-510- F-02-019 Novembe r 2002 www.ep a.gov/ous ------- ------- |