Brownfields and Land Revitalization
in Small, Rural and Tribal Communities
EPA's Brownfields and Land Revitalization Program
provides grants and technical assistance that helps
communities of all sizes overcome the challenges of
assessing, cleaning up and redeveloping brownfield
sites. These resources include:
The range of EPA's Brownfields resources can be
especially helpful to small, rural and tribal communities
who want to:
•	Competitive grants for site assessment, cleanup,
and environmental job training programs.
•	Support to State and Tribal Response Programs.
•	Technical assistance opportunities, including:
-	Site-specific targeted brownfields assessments.
-	Free access to site assessment, cleanup, reuse
and community involvement expertise.
•	address dilapidated or abandoned properties (e.g.,
mills, manufacturing sites, gas stations, commercial
buildings, etc.) that may be contaminated, vacant or
underutilized,
•	g|an reuse of these properties for economic
development, nonprofit use or open space, and
•	stimulate market interest in these properties by
assessing and cleaning up legacy contaminants
associated with past operations.
SEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Brownfields are vacant and
underused parcels of land
that can be eyesores and
may threaten public health. A
brownfield is a "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.
Before and after construction of Growningdome. Cloud City Farm,
Leadville, Colo.
Rates are based on the number of grant
applications received versus the number of
grants selected for award. Approximately
one in three applicants who apply for an EPA
Brownfields Grant to assess or cleanup a site
is selected for award.
Success Rates Among Brownfields
Grant Applicants, 2014-2019
Applicant Community Population <1,000
Applicant Community Population <20,000
Tribal Applicants
All Applicants
Header photo: Mary Leila
Lofts in Greensboro, Ga.
Background photo: Interior of
Mary Leila Cotton Mill, before
redevelopment.
Revitalizing Rural Virginia
Working alongside developers and consultants, the
Town of Pulaski (population: 8,726) set out to revitalize
the formerly booming industrial town. The Town
received a $200,000 Brownfields Assessment grant in
2009, as well as a second assessment grant in 2014.
These two grants allowed the town to perform thirteen
Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) and
five Phase II ESAs.
•	Brownfield assessments were able to provide
developers with the security to potentially purchase
sites or buildings, in turn becoming economic drivers
in the community.
•	Effective partnerships and collaborations with
consultants, investors, and the community were
able to propel Pulaski's plan and vision forward in
the early stages of redevelopment. Federal, state,
and local dollars invested through the Brownfield
program helped spark the Town's transformation
into the reinvigorated community that it is today.
• For example, the former Dunnivant Warehouse
Building was redeveloped into the Jackson Park Inn
and Conference Center, a boutique hotel containing
meeting spaces and a restaurant which has provided
jobs for over 40 full time employees.
Supporting Revitalization of a Court
House on Tribal Lands
Many tribes use EPA funding to establish and enhance
tribal response programs that support brownfields
cleanup and reuse. Tribal priorities often include
cleaning up and reusing contaminated land for non-
economic purposes, such as returning land to cultural
use. The Hoopa Valley Tribe (population: 2,140),
located in northern California, addressed contamination
issues during redevelopment and renovation of the

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Tribal Court House in downtown Hoopa, which closed in
2014 due to structural, mold, asbestos and lead-based
paint issues.
« In 2016, the Hoopa Tribal Environmental Protection
Agency (TEPA) used their Tribal Response Program
funding from EPA to provide cleanup oversight and
abate asbestos and lead-based paint in the building.
The Tribal Court is a crucial entity to the TEPA
Environmental Compliance Program, and having a
fully functioning court is imperative in enforcing Tribal
Environmental Ordinances.
» The redevelopment of the Tribal Court House was
completed in February 2018 using Department
of Justice Tribal Justice Systems Infrastructure
Program funding.
•	With the completion of this project, the Tribal Court
is once again providing justice services to the Hoopa
Reservation.
Senior Housing in a Rural Idaho
Former School
The Cottonwood, Idaho (population: 923) School District
received technical assistance from EPA's Brownfields
and Land Revitalization Program in 2017 to help
revitalize their former elementary school. The school
district wanted the site to become a community amenity
once again. It had tried repeatedly for many years to
sell the property, but to no avail.
*	EPA's team assisted with explaining market
opportunities and limitations, helped develop different
approaches to building repurposing, and provided a
best value analysis report with potential designs.
*	Idaho's Department of Environmental Quality
committed to cleaning up the asbestos, lead paint
and mercury switch issues using EPA Brownfield
Response Program funding.
•	The former school is slated to become a five-unit
senior living complex next year.
Bringing Affordable Housing to a
Historic Cotton Mill in Greensboro,
Georgia
The City of Greensboro (population: 3,359) received
a $200,000 Brownfields Assessment grant in 2007
to assess three brownfields sites. Of the three sites,
the former Mary-Leila Mill property was selected for
redevelopment. The historic property formerly operated
as a cotton mill and at one time employed more than
300 workers. The property was cleaned up under the
Georgia Department of Natural Resources Brownfield
Program and converted into a 71-unit affordable living
community, which opened to the public in October 2016.
•	After holding public meetings about the future
redevelopment, the City took the necessary steps
to rezone the property from industrial to commercial
planned unit development in 2013.
•	The redeveloped units are energy-efficient and
preserve historic elements such as exposed brick
walls, arched windows, and original wood plank
flooring.
•	In 2018, the Mary-Leila Lofts received the Georgia
Trust for Historic Preservation Chairman's Award,
which recognizes extraordinary efforts contributing to
the preservation of Georgia's historic resources.
Creating a Living Classroom and
Farmland in the Rocky Mountains,
Colorado
Lake County, Colorado received a $400,000 EPA
Brownfields grant in 2014 to assess several priority
sites within the County that were not associated
with the Superfund cleanup of legacy contaminants
due to mining operations. The County's brownfields
assessment activities in the City of Leadville
(population: 2,759) supported the cleanup and reuse
of a former vacant property into the "Cloud City Farm,
Greenhouse, and Living Classroom"- a farm and
environmental education center for local students.
The first structure, a 42-foot diameter greenhouse
(aka "Growingdome") was finished in 2017, Future
phases will include a shed, walkways, a 30 x 80-foot
hoop house, and raised-bed outdoor gardens. The
project further builds from a 2015 EPA Environmental
Education grant, which focused on improving county
capacity for environmental stewardship. The Cloud City
complex will:
« Provide K-12 students with opportunities to increase
their environmental understanding through hands-on
education opportunities surrounding clean energy, food
systems, recycling, compost, and waste diversion.
« Increase Lake County's ability to grow and access
fresh, healthy, and affordable food.
•	Lay a foundation for self-sufficiency and long-term
sustainability for the community.
Photos from left to right: Recently renovated Hoopa Tribal Court House; Jackson Park Inn in Pulaski, Va.; and former Prairie Elementaiy School
in Cottonwood, Idaho.
Background photo: Interior
of Jackson Park Inn in
Pulaski, Va.
oEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA 560-F-19-178
September 2019
Office of Brownfields and
Land Revitalization

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