FY23 Guidelines for Brownfield Assessment Grants (Assessment Coalition Grants) | EPA OLEM OBLR 22 07

Opportunity Information: Apply for EPA OLEM OBLR 22 07

The FY23 Guidelines for Brownfield Assessment Grants (Assessment Coalition Grants) is a discretionary funding opportunity from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under its Brownfields Program. The program is rooted in federal brownfields authorities established in Section 104(k) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), which was expanded by the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act of 2002. It was later reauthorized and further updated by the 2018 Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development (BUILD) Act, which made additional amendments affecting EPA brownfield grant authorities as well as certain ownership and liability provisions. In practical terms, this grant guidance is meant to help communities and eligible partners secure federal assistance to move properties with real or perceived contamination concerns from uncertainty and disuse toward investigation, planning, and eventual redevelopment.

This particular funding focuses on brownfield assessment through a coalition model. Assessment grants generally support activities that help identify and understand environmental conditions at brownfield sites before cleanup and reuse decisions are made. The coalition approach typically involves a lead applicant that coordinates assessment work across multiple community members or partners, allowing smaller or resource-constrained communities to participate in a broader, shared effort. The overall intent is to empower states, tribal nations, communities, and nonprofit organizations to prevent, inventory, assess, clean up, and reuse brownfield sites, with these guidelines specifically emphasizing how to apply for Assessment Coalition Grants.

The opportunity is issued as a cooperative agreement, which signals that the EPA expects to have substantial involvement in the project compared with a standard grant. The program sits in the environment funding activity category and is associated with CFDA number 66.818. The agency issuing the opportunity is the Environmental Protection Agency, and the funding opportunity number is EPA OLEM OBLR 22 07, indicating it is administered within EPA offices responsible for land revitalization and brownfields work.

Key logistics include an original posting date of September 12, 2022, and an original closing date of November 22, 2022, with the notice directing applicants to consult Section IV of the official funding opportunity announcement for the controlling close date details. EPA anticipated making about 20 awards under this announcement. The listed award ceiling is $20,000,000, which reflects the maximum possible award amount under the opportunity and underscores that coalition assessment awards can be structured at a scale large enough to support multi-community assessment strategies.

Eligibility is labeled broadly as "Others" with a note to consult the "Additional Information on Eligibility" section of the announcement for clarification. In the context of the Brownfields Program, eligible entities commonly include units of local government, states, tribal nations, and certain nonprofit organizations, but the specific coalition rules and who may serve as the lead applicant versus coalition members is governed by the full eligibility language in the announcement. The guidance referenced in this opportunity is meant to walk applicants through those requirements and explain how to structure a coalition application that aligns with EPA objectives for assessing and positioning brownfield sites for cleanup and reuse.

Overall, this opportunity is about building the early-stage foundation for brownfield revitalization: organizing partners, identifying target properties, conducting environmental assessments and related planning, and creating a credible path toward cleanup and redevelopment. By using a coalition structure, the EPA is aiming to broaden reach and capacity so multiple communities can benefit from coordinated assessment resources, particularly where individual jurisdictions might not have the staff, technical expertise, or budget to pursue assessments on their own.

• The Environmental Protection Agency in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY23 Guidelines for Brownfield Assessment Grants (Assessment Coalition Grants)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 66.818.
• This funding opportunity was created on Sep 12, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Nov 22, 2022 See Section IV of the funding opportunity announcement for close date information.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $20,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 20 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for EPA OLEM OBLR 22 07

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