brownfields funding

November 12, 2024

Brightline redevelopment
Brightline an intercity rail route that runs between Miami and Orlando, Florida and nearby land recycling and property restoration efforts following due diligence.

 

Recycling land and properties helps build opportunities for creating and transitioning commercial and mixed-use space. It is often a sensible and sustainable option with rising real estate costs, increased due diligence, and a lack of greenfield in and around urban areas with established infrastructure.

Miami-Dade County, nestled between the Atlantic Ocean and the Everglades in Florida, faces a significant challenge in finding space for new development. With land becoming increasingly scarce, attention has turned towards redeveloping sites left vacant due to contamination or the perceived presence of contamination, such as brownfield designated areas, agricultural lands, golf courses, old dumps, and closed landfills.

Despite the challenges these sites pose, such as contamination from pesticides, herbicides, and other pollutants, developers and investors are finding many benefits to redeveloping these sites for residential, mixed-use, and commercial purposes.

 Sustainable Benefits for Developers, Investors, Local Businesses, and Communities

Increased Community Value: Vacant, contaminated sites offer little benefit to communities. Redeveloping these areas can transform them into safe, productive commercial or mixed-use spaces, contributing to revitalization and community well-being.

Job Creation: Redevelopment projects stimulate economic activity by creating jobs in construction, engineering, and related fields. Jobs boost local employment rates and support businesses in the area.

Tax Revenue: Land recycling can increase property values and tax revenues for essential community services such as schools, roads, and public facilities.

Tax Credits: Private and public entities conducting voluntary cleanup in Florida, for example, can receive available tax credits of upwards of $500,000.

Federal Funding: EPA’s Brownfields Program provides direct funding via grants for assessment, cleanup, and other environmental-related programs.

Affordable Housing: Repurposing land for residential use can help address housing shortages, offering more affordable housing options in desirable urban and suburban locations.

Environmental Restoration: Through careful planning and adherence to regulations, redeveloped sites can contribute to environmental restoration efforts. Measures like methane gas mitigation systems manage any environmental risks responsibly.

 Solutions to the Most Common Challenges

Although redeveloping contaminated properties or land recycling offers benefits, some challenges require insight from specialized environmental engineers. With their more comprehensive knowledge and relationships, these engineers help keep projects safe and on schedule.

Costs and Monetary Support: Assessment and remediation costs are typically the number one factor in why sites are not recycled. However, engaging an environmental program manager who guides you through state and federal funding options can help achieve budgetary goals by offsetting some of these costs.

Regulatory Compliance: Regulations for redeveloping sites are stringent and require experienced professionals who understand the regulatory landscape. Therefore, engaging with an engineer early to perform due diligence will help better qualify and quantify development risks. The same professional can better provide the development team with the closure strategies available to manage and mitigate contaminants effectively.

Risk Management: Risk-based corrective actions (RBCA) are crucial in ensuring the safety of redeveloped sites and land recycling. Without RBCA, many contaminated sites would likely be undeveloped due to high remediation costs. The engineer will tailor actions to a specific county or city regulatory framework to address potential hazards comprehensively. Specialized techniques environmental engineers use include newer technology and engineering processes that can resolve contamination and groundwater issues more efficiently while meeting local, state, and federal mandates.

Innovation and Adaptation: Staying ahead of emerging contaminant challenges such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) or remediation limitations is essential as regulatory landscapes evolve. Adapting to new cleanup standards and remediation technologies ensures that redeveloped sites meet or exceed environmental safety expectations both now and in the future. It is also possible for some land recycling projects to account for or verify any carbon savings – an increasingly important consideration to shareholders.

Exploration into Land Recycling and Property Restoration is Rigorous

Redeveloping contaminated land presents both challenges and opportunities. Developers are transforming these sites into valuable community assets by adhering to rigorous environmental standards and employing innovative solutions. From economic revitalization to environmental stewardship, redeveloping contaminated properties or land recycling offers a path toward sustainable growth and improved quality of life in regions around our nation.

 

Meet the Authors:

Brittney OdemBrittney Odem is a Vice President and SCS’s Regional Director of our Southeast Region Environmental Services Practice. She manages large scale projects that include emergency response; environmental site assessment and characterization; remedial pilot testing, construction, installation, operations, and maintenance; regulatory negotiations; and compliance. She also conducts large scale assessments and remediation of arsenic-impacted sites to recycle into useable properties.

Dillon ReioDillon Reio is a Senior Project Professional with experience in site assessments, field sampling, and remediation of contaminated sites, including Phase I and Phase II ESAs pertaining to petroleum and industrial waste contamination. As a hydrogeologist he has reviewed technical reports as well as soil and groundwater assessments for proposed developments.

Additional Land Recycling Resources:

 

 

 

Posted by Diane Samuels at 2:04 pm

September 13, 2024

Brownfield Grants News

$232 Million in Grants to Clean Up Brownfield Sites, Address Legacy Pollution, Advance Environmental Justice, and Spur Economic Revitalization

 

On September 6, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of $232 million in grant funding through EPA’s Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (ARC) program. This is the fourth wave of funding supported by the Administration’s Investing in America agenda to assess and clean up polluted brownfield sites across the country. The new grants will advance environmental justice and help transform once-polluted, vacant, and abandoned properties into community assets while spurring economic revitalization in underserved communities.

The Notices of Funding Opportunities and application information are posted on www.grants.gov/. Applications are due by November 14, 2024, via grants.gov.

Copies of the FY25 Brownfields Grants Guidelines and other application resources are available on the Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant Application Resources webpage.

The Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization will host outreach webinars on September 19, 2024, and September 24, 2024, to explain the Narrative/Ranking criteria for interested applicants and to address commonly asked questions. Prior registration is not required. Link to join the Assessment Grants webinar on September 19 at 12:00 pm ET

Link to join the Revolving Loan Fund and Cleanup Grants webinar on September 24 at 12:00 pm ET

Read more on EPA’s Brownfields Program or contact your local Brownfields expert at SCS Engineers.

 

 

Posted by Diane Samuels at 6:00 am

September 22, 2023

epa cleanup grants
Revitalize your community!

 

Millions in FY24 Brownfields Grants Available – Deadline for Submissions is November 13, 2023

EPA anticipates awarding an estimated 60 Community-wide Assessment Grants for an estimated total of $30 million, subject to the quality of applications received, availability of funds, and other applicable considerations.

A Community-wide Assessment Grant is appropriate for communities beginning to address their brownfield challenges and for communities with ongoing efforts to bring sites into productive reuse. The project period for Community-wide Assessment Grants is up to four years.

Open EPA Brownfields Grant Funding Opportunities in FY24  — Applications for each are due November 13, 2023

FY 2024 Technical Assistance to Tribal Nations and Entities Addressing Brownfields Grant $4 million, with a $4 m ceiling, one grant expected

FY 2024 Multipurpose Grants $20 million, with a $1 m ceiling, 20 grants expected

FY 2024 Community-wide Assessment Grants $30 million, with a $.5 m ceiling, 60 grants expected

FY 2024 Assessment Coalition Grants  $40 million, with a $1.5 m ceiling, 26 grants expected

FY 2024 Community-wide Assessment Grants for States and Tribes $50 million, with a $2 m ceiling, 25 grants expected

FY 2024 Cleanup Grants $95 million, with a $5 m ceiling, 65 grants expected

The closing date and time for receipt of applications is November 13, 2023, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). You must submit applications through https://www.grants.gov/. Please take a look at the Due Date and Submission Instructions in Section IV.B. and Appendix 1 for more instructions.

 

Please contact your EPA regional support staff or SCS Engineers at for help. We’re happy to help answer questions.

 

 

 

Posted by Diane Samuels at 12:11 pm

December 21, 2021

Scissortail Park in Oklahoma City
Scissortail Park in Oklahoma City was once a Brownfields. Now it is a source of pride for all citizens to enjoy.

 

“The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law last month, will dedicate more than $1.5 billion to the U.S. EPA Brownfields program. The Act includes hundreds of millions of dollars allocated to Multipurpose Grants, Assessment Grants, Cleanup Grants, Revolving Loan Fund Grants, and technical assistance intended to improve equity, create jobs, and mitigate environmental degradation.”

CCLR has provided the expected breakdown and timelines from EPA. The EPA has hundreds of millions of dollars allocated for FY22 that will be applied for in July and awarded in November 2022. This timeline is different and with much larger individual grants possible, up to $10mil per grant.

SCS Engineers has a stellar win rate for brownfields grant writing and implementing brownfields programs. Please let our brownfields and remediation experts know if you have any questions or if we can provide assistance in grant support.

Click here to learn more and obtain support and funding for your community’s brownfields project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by Diane Samuels at 6:00 am

April 28, 2021

brownfields
Our panelists bring comprehensive expertise to the discussion, including due diligence, Brownfields, voluntary remediation, funding and grant expertise. The team answers questions throughout the presentation, and the second portion of the program is devoted to Q&A and idea exchange.

 

SCS’s next webinar helps our clients prepare to capitalize on upcoming opportunities to redevelop contaminated properties as a result of market demands, stimulus funding, and traditional Brownfields grant programs. In this live, non-commercial presentation we’ll cover the following:

  • What needs to be done now to lay the groundwork for success.
  • Where to find seed money and what it can be used for.
  • Is your project realistic?
  • How to integrate remediation and development to streamline schedules and reduce costs.
  • Recovering remediation costs and fixed price remediation.
  • Regulatory challenges—taking advantage of new elements found in voluntary cleanup programs.

This educational, non-commercial webinar with a Q&A forum is free and open to all who want to learn more about meeting the environmental challenges these new opportunities offer. We recommend this month’s discussion for developers, contractors, municipal officials, city managers interested in using stimulus funds for local development, and advisors such as banks, insurance firms, and attorneys to private and public entities.

 

DATE: Thursday, April 29, 2021

TIME: 2 p.m. ET, 1 CT, Noon MT, 11 PT

 

 

You will receive a Zoom email with your link to attend. Do not share this link.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by Diane Samuels at 6:00 am