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EPA Brownfields and Land Revitalization
CERCLA Section 128(a) Technical
Assistance Grant (TAG)
BROWNFIELDS AND
LAND REVITALIZATION
This fact sheet is riot a substitute for the EPA Brownfields Section 128(a) Grant Application Guidelines located
on the Brownfields Program website at www.epa.aov/brownfields.
What is EPA's Brownfields Program?
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's)
Brownfields and Land Revitalization Program empowers
states, Tribal Nations, communities, and other
stakeholders to build strong partnerships and local
capacity to assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse
brownfield sites. EPA provides technical and financial
assistance for brownfields activities that protect human
health and the environment, encourage sustainable reuse,
promote partnerships, strengthen local economies, and
create jobs.
Educational Session at the Alaska Forum on the Environment.
By providing funds and technical assistance to assess,
cleanup, and plan for site reuse, EPA enables communities
to overcome the environmental, legal, and fiscal challenges
associated with brownfields properties. EPA's investments
in communities across the country help local leaders
eliminate uncertainties, clean up contaminated properties,
and transform brownfield sites into community assets.
A brownfield is
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,
CERCLA §101(39)
What is Section 128(a) TAG?
Section 128(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act ("CERCLA")
authorizes a technical assistance grant ('TAG") program to
assist small communities, Indian tribes, rural areas, or
disadvantaged areas to carry out activities outlined in
CERCLA Section 104(k)(7) ("Implementation of
Brownfields Programs").
V Examples of eligible Section 104(k)(7) activities include
compiling an inventory of brownfields sites, facilitating
community involvement in a brownfields project, or
providing brownfields training,
S See below for more examples of eligible activities.
By law, the maximum amount of
Section 128(a) TAG funding allowed
is $20,000 per grant.
CERCLA 1128(a)(l)(B)(iii)(ll)
Who can request the Section 128(a) TAG?
¦S Eligible entities for Section 128(a) TAG funding include:
V A State, as defined in CERCLA § 101(27)
V An Indian tribe, as defined in CERCLA § 101(36)
S Intertribal consortia, as defined in the Federal
Register Notice at 67 FR 67181, Nov. 4, 2002
J Request must be on behalf of a(n):
V Small community1
S Indian tribe,
S Rural area, or
S Disadvantaged area2
¦S Multiple eligible communities may be assisted in one
grant.
A small community is defined as having a population of not more than 15,000 individuals,
as determined by the President based on the latest available decennial census. (CERCLA
S128(a)(l)(B)(iv)(ll»
2 A disadvantaged area is defined as a community with an annual median household income that
is less than 80 percent of the statewide annual median household income, as determined by
the President based on the latest available decennial census. (CERCLA §128(aHl)(B)(iv)(0)
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How to request the Section 128(a) TAG
S Section 128(a) TAG is awarded as part of the annual
CERCLA 128(a) State and Tribal Response program
funding cycle.
/ Appendix A of the annual grant funding guidance
provides the specific instructions for requesting
128(a) TAG funds in a given fiscal year. Copies of the
guidance can be obtained from EPA's State and Tribal
Response Program Grants website.
S Requests must include the information listed in
Appendix A of the guidance and be submitted to the
appropriate Regional EPA Brownfields office by the
stated deadline.
First time requestors are strongly encouraged to contact their
Regional EPA Brownfields office contacts with any questions prior
to submitting their funding request.
What is the general timeline for Section 128(a) funding?
~ To learn more about state arid tribal response ~ To see success stories from state and tribal
programs across the country, please go to the brownfields response programs, please go to
EPA regional pages or Brownfields Near You. the Section 128(a) Highlights page.
How are requests considered?
EPA will consider requests based on the following:
¦S readiness of the recipient and community to complete
the project within a year of award,
S the recipient is in good standing with their current
CERCLA Section 128(a) grant,
S the recipient has documented support from the
community benefiting from this grant, and
S the recipient adequately responded to the criteria
listed in Appendix A of the annual Section 128(a)
Funding Guidance.
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By law, Section 128(a) TAG must be used
to assist small communities, Indian
tribes> rural areas, or disadvantaged
Example uses for Section 128(a) TAG:
Section 128(a) TAG may be used to carry out activities
outlined in CERCLA Section 104(k)(7), "to facilitate the
inventory of brownfields sites, site assessments,
remediation of brown fie Id sites, community involvement,
or site preparation," such as:
¦S Develop detailed brownfields inventories.
S Provide brownfields training.
J Conduct research projects to inform future
brownfields priorities and activities.
S Develop brownfield redevelopment plans.
V Provide technical assistance to a community new
to brownfields.
S Perform community visioning or market viability
analysis that advances cleanup and reuse of
brownfields sites within the project area.
¦S Host a design charrette for a community that needs
support with their brownfields projects.
S Consider using EPA's Land Revitalization Tools to help
advance sustainable and equitable site reuses, and
planning activities to initiate brownfields revitalization.
S Partner with universities who can provide technical
assistance to an eligible community.
•/ Mentor a tribe that is interested in learning more
about brownfields,
•/ Produce brownfield-specific outreach materials to
facilitate community involvement.
¦S Produce a land survey or topographical map.
J Provide technical assistance to develop a community
health assessment at brownfields sites and training on
how to effectively carry out the plan.
Note: these lists are not exhaustive.
Please contact your Regional EPA
Brownfields office contacts with any
questions regarding eligible activities.
Ribbon cutting ceremony ot a new affordable housing apartment building
in Schenectady, NY.
Examples of what the Section 128(a) TAG
CANNOT be used for:
x May not be used to augment a Section 128(a) State
and Tribal Response funding award.
x May not be placed in Performance Partnership
Grants (PPGs).
x May not conduct site assessments, site cleanups, or
response activities often associated with cleanups
such as demolition or groundwater extraction.
x May not be used to develop a general Quality
Assurance Project Plan (QAPP).
x May not be used to pay for the costs to enroll in a
state voluntary cleanup program or tribal response
program.
x May not be used to implement health monitoring.
x May not be used to market brownfields properties for
redevelopment (e.g., activities or products created
specifically to attract buyers or investors).
x May not be used for general community visioning,
area-wide zoning updates, master planning, city-wide
or comprehensive plan updates, etc., if unrelated to
advancing cleanup and reuse of brownfields within the
project area.
Check out the StoryMap Project from
the Association of State and Territorial
Solid Waste Management Officials
(ASTSWMO) for a compilation of
example Section 128(a) TAG projects.
EPA Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization
CERCLA Section 128(a)
Technical Assistance Grant
Office of Land
and Emergency
Management
EPA-560-F-22-299
Updated August 2022
www epa. gov/brownfields
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