EPA Issues Brownfields Grants

Lynn Schenkman

Washington, D.C. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced it will issue $73.1 million in Brownfields grants to 176 applicants from 37 states and seven tribes. The grants are funded by the 2002 Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act, which authorizes up to $250 million per year for Brownfields grants, including up to $50 million for the assessment and cleanup of low-risk petroleum-contaminated sties.

When Bush signed this act into law in January 2002, the definition of Brownfields was broadened to include sites under real or perceived environmental harm because of petroleum, in addition to the traditional definition that includes damage caused by mining or other industry or construction. The $73.1 million will provide 117 assessment grants totaling $30.7; 69 cleanup grants totaling $12 million; and 28 revolving loan fund grants totaling $30.4 million.