FY27 Guidelines for Brownfield Assessment Grants (Assessment Coalition Grants)

This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits applications from eligible entities to prevent, inventory, assess, and plan for the cleanup and reuse of brownfield sites. Eligible entities include government organizations, Federally recognized Tribes, and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. Please see Section 2.A. for the complete list of eligible entities. Applications must meet all threshold eligibility criteria in Section 2.B. to be considered eligible to receive an Assessment Coalition Grant.

Assessment Grants provide funding for developing inventories of brownfield sites, prioritizing sites, conducting community involvement activities, conducting planning, conducting site assessments, developing site-specific cleanup plans, and developing reuse plans related to brownfield sites. A portion of the Assessment Grant funding must be used to conduct site assessments. Assessment Grant funds may not be used to conduct cleanup activities. Assessment Coalition Grants are designed for one “lead” eligible entity to partner with two to four eligible entities that do not have the capacity to apply for and manage their own EPA cooperative agreement and otherwise would not have access to Brownfields Grant resources.

The lead entity submits one application on behalf of the coalition members and may request funding up to $1,000,000 to address sites contaminated (or potentially contaminated) by hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants, including hazardous substances comingled with petroleum, and/or petroleum. To be eligible for Brownfield Grant funding, sites must meet the definition of a brownfield site under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) § 101(39) and site eligibility requirements as described in the Information on Sites Eligible for Brownfields Funding under CERCLA § 104(k). For the purposes of this funding opportunity, the cost of site-specific activities carried out at each approved, eligible site may not exceed $200,000 per site. EPA will determine site eligibility after the grant award and prior to expending grant funds at any site. Assessment Coalitions will be required to assess at least two sites in each coalition member’s geographic boundary.

Before expending or drawing down awarded funds, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) must document the coalition’s site selection process. Coalition members should establish relationships and define roles to achieve the project goals. The purpose of the MOA is for coalition members to agree on the distribution of funds and the mechanisms for implementing the assessment work.