EPA-I-OLEM-OBLR-25-06.pdf

Notice of Funding Opportunity

Applications Due: Wednesday, January 28, 2026

Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization

FY26 GUIDELINES FOR

BROWNFIELD ASSESSMENT

GRANTS (COMMUNITY-WIDE

ASSESSMENT GRANTS FOR

STATES AND TRIBES)

Funding Opportunity Number: EPA-I-OLEM-OBLR-25-06 i

Contents

1. Basic Information

A. Executive Summary B. Key Information C. Key Dates D. Funding Details E. Agency Contact Information

2. Eligibility

A. Eligible Applicants B. Threshold Criteria

(1) Applicant Eligibility

(2) Community Involvement

(3) Expenditure of Existing Grant Funds

(4) Target Areas and Priority Sites

(5) Contractors and Named Subrecipients

C. Cost Sharing

3. Program Description

A. Purpose, Priorities, and Activities

(1) Purpose

(2) Eligible Uses of Grant Funds

(3) Ineligible Uses of Grant Funds

(4) Measuring Environmental Results: Anticipated Outputs/Outcomes

(5) Leveraging

B. Program Goals and Objectives C. Statutory Authority D. Funding Type

4. Application Contents and Format

A. Application Forms (Submission Checklist) B. Application Information Sheet C. Narrative Criteria

(1) PROJECT AREA DESCRIPTION AND PLANS FOR REVITALIZATION

(2) COMMUNITY NEED AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

(3) TASK DESCRIPTIONS, COST ESTIMATES, AND MEASURING PROGRESS

(4) PROGRAMMATIC CAPABILITY AND PAST PERFORMANCE

D. Applicants Using Contractors and/or Subrecipients Subrecipients

5. Submission Requirements and Deadlines

A. Submission Dates and Times B. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and System for Award Management (SAM.gov) C. Submission Instructions ii

D. Technical Issues with Submission E. Requirements to Submit Through Grants.gov and Limited Exception Procedures F. Intergovernmental Review

6. Application Review Information

A. Responsiveness Review B. Review Criteria C. Review and Selection Process

(1) Other Evaluation Factors

D. Risk Review

7. Award Notices

8. Post-Award Requirements and Administration

A. Administrative and National Policy Requirements B. Reporting C. Subaward and Executive Compensation Reporting D. Brownfield Programmatic Requirements E. Build America, Buy America

9. Other Information

A. Additional Provisions for Applicants

1. Basic Information U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization (OBLR)

FY26 GUIDELINES FOR BROWNFIELD ASSESSMENT GRANTS (COMMUNITY-WIDE ASSESSMENT

GRANTS FOR STATES AND TRIBES)

Multipurpose, Assessment, RLF, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant Application Resources

A. Executive Summary Assessment Grants provide funding for developing inventories of brownfield sites, prioritizing sites, conducting community involvement activities, conducting planning, conducting site assessments,1 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.

Community-wide Assessment Grants for States and Tribes are available to:

• States (i.e., State agencies that are subject to the direct control of the governor or other elected executive officials such as environmental agencies, transportation agencies, health departments, parks and recreation departments, and departments of commerce); and

• Tribes2 (i.e., federally recognized Indian Tribes other than in Alaska; Intertribal Consortia comprised of eligible Indian Tribes)

• Alaska Native Regional Corporations and Alaska Native Village Corporations as those terms are defined in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 and following) and the Metlakatla Indian Community.

Note, State and Tribal universities and colleges are not eligible for Community-wide Assessment Grants for States and Tribes but may apply for other types of Assessment Grants if they are otherwise eligible (e.g., are exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC)).

1 Environmental site assessments must be performed in accordance with EPA's All Appropriate Inquiries Final Rule (40 CFR Part 312).

2 There are currently 574 federally recognized Tribes, and there are many names that these sovereign nations use to describe their culture, history, and geography, including Tribe, Village, Nation, Band, and Pueblo. For the purpose of these guidelines, the EPA Brownfields Program uses “Tribe” and “Tribal Nation” as all-encompassing terms.

B. Key Information Opportunity Number:

EPA-I-OLEM-OBLR-25-06

Assistance Listing:

66.818

Announcement Type:

Initial

Funding Available:

$35,000,000

Number of Awards:

Approximately 18 http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/marc-grant-application-resources https://www.law.cornell.edu/topn/alaska_native_claims_settlement_act https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/43/1601 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/43/1601 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-J/part-312

Applicants may request funding up to $2,000,000 to address sites contaminated by hazardous substances3 (i.e., sites with potential contamination of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants) and/or petroleum4 (i.e., sites with potential petroleum contamination). Recipients will be required to assess sites (a minimum of 10) throughout their geographic boundary(ies). 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) as described in the Information on Sites Eligible for Brownfields Funding under CERCLA § 104(k). Consistent with the direction on site limits in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, activities carried out at each approved, eligible site may exceed $200,000. EPA will determine site eligibility after the award of the grant throughout the project period.

Applications must meet all Threshold Criteria in Section 2.B. to be considered eligible to receive a Community-wide Assessment Grant for States and Tribes.

Please carefully review Section 4.D. of these guidelines, Section IV of EPA NOFO Clauses, and Section D.

in the FY26 Brownfields Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to ensure that contractors (including individual consultants) are procured in compliance with the fair and open competition requirements.

A checklist of required application forms and documents is in Section 4.A.

For the purposes of these guidelines, the term “grant” refers to the cooperative agreement that EPA will award to a successful applicant.

C. Key Dates National Outreach Webinar

Application Submission Deadline

Anticipated Notification of Selection

Anticipated Award Notification

December 3, 2025 12:00 pm ET

January 28, 2026 11:59 pm ET

June 2026

September 2026

D. Funding Details

It is anticipated that up to 18 awards will be made under this announcement. The amount of funding is expected to be $35,000,000, depending on Agency funding levels, the quality of applications received, agency priorities, and other applicable considerations. Awards funded under this opportunity are expected to have a 5-year project period. Applicants may apply for up to $2,000,000 of EPA funds. (Note, applicants may also request an amount that is less than $2,000,000.)

EPA reserves the right to make additional awards under this competition, consistent with Agency policy, if additional funding becomes available. Any additional selections for awards will be made no later than

3 Hazardous substance sites eligible for funding are those sites with the presence or potential presence of hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants, sites that are contaminated with controlled substances, or that are mine-scarred lands. For more information, please refer to the FY26 Brownfields Frequently Asked Questions.

4 Petroleum sites eligible for funding are those sites that meet the definition set forth in CERCLA § 101(39)(D)(ii)(II), as further described in Section 1.3.2. in the Information on Sites Eligible for Brownfields Funding under CERCLA § 104(k).

https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/information-sites-eligible-brownfields-funding-under-cercla-ss-104k https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-solicitation-clauses https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/frequently-asked-questions-about-multipurpose-assessment-rlf-and-cleanup-grants https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/marc-grant-application-resources https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/frequently-asked-questions-about-multipurpose-assessment-rlf-and-cleanup-grants https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/information-sites-eligible-brownfields-funding-under-cercla-ss-104k https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/information-sites-eligible-brownfields-funding-under-cercla-ss-104k six (6) months from the date of the original selection decision. EPA reserves the right to reject all applications and make no awards under this announcement or make fewer awards than anticipated.

In appropriate circumstances, EPA reserves the right to partially fund applications by funding discrete portions or phases of proposed projects. To maintain the integrity of the competition and selection process, EPA, if it decides to partially fund an application, will do so in a manner that does not prejudice any applicants or affect the basis upon which the application, or portion thereof, was evaluated and selected for award.

Awards may be fully or incrementally funded, as appropriate, based on funding availability, satisfactory performance, and other applicable considerations.

E. Agency Contact Information Further information, if needed, may be obtained from the EPA contact(s) indicated below.

Technical Contact: Elyse Salinas, 202-564-2858, brownfields@epa.gov

Eligibility Contact: See Regional Contacts below

Electronic Submissions Contact: Grants.gov, 1-800-518-4726, support@grants.gov

Regional Contact(s): EPA Region 1 (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) Meena Mortazavi, Mortazavi.Meena@epa.gov, (617) 918-1488 EPA Region 2 (NJ, NY, PR, VI) Esmeralda Vargas, Vargas.Esmeralda@epa.gov, (212) 637-4391 EPA Region 3 (DE, DC, MD, PA, VA, WV) Anthony Geiger, Geiger.Anthony@epa.gov, (215) 814-3367 EPA Region 4 (AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN) Aditi Chakravarty, Chakravarty.Aditi@epa.gov, (404) 562-9515 EPA Region 5 (IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI) Riley Jenkins, Jenkins.Riley@epa.gov, (312) 886-7178 EPA Region 6 (AR, LA, NM, OK, TX) Marsha Lay, Lay.Marsha@epa.gov, (214) 665-7562 EPA Region 7 (IA, KS, MO, NE) Tarah Vaughn, R7_Brownfields@epa.gov, (913) 551-7059 EPA Region 8 (CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY) Melisa Devincenzi, Devincenzi.Melisa@epa.gov, (303) 312-6377 EPA Region 9 (AZ, CA, HI, NV, Pacific Island Territories) Jennifer Tung, Tung.Jennifer@epa.gov, (415) 972-3698 EPA Region 10 (AK, ID, OR, WA) Meredith Lightbody, Lightbody.Meredith@epa.gov, (206) 553-6910

2. Eligibility A. Eligible Applicants Only these types of organizations may apply for a Community-wide Assessment Grant for States and Tribes. Organization types are consistent with definitions at Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) § 104(k)(1) and 2 CFR § 200.1:

mailto:brownfields@epa.gov mailto:support@grants.gov mailto:Mortazavi.Meena@epa.gov mailto:Vargas.Esmeralda@epa.gov mailto:Geiger.Anthony@epa.gov mailto:Chakravarty.Aditi@epa.gov mailto:Jenkins.Riley@epa.gov mailto:Lay.Marsha@epa.gov mailto:R7_Brownfields@epa.gov mailto:devincenzi.melisa@epa.gov mailto:Tung.Jennifer@epa.gov mailto:Lightbody.Meredith@epa.gov https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/section-200.1 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/section-200.1

• State.5

• Federally recognized Indian Tribe other than in Alaska. (The exclusion of Tribes from Alaska, with the exception of the Metlakatla Indian Community as noted below, from Brownfields Grant eligibility is statutory at CERCLA § 104(k)(1). Intertribal Consortia, comprised of eligible Indian Tribes, are eligible for funding in accordance with EPA’s policy for funding intertribal consortia published in the Federal Register on November 4, 2002, at 67 Fed. Reg. 67181. This policy also may be obtained from your Regional Brownfields Contact listed in Section 1.E.)

• Alaska Native Regional Corporation and Alaska Native Village Corporation as those terms are defined in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 and following) and the Metlakatla Indian Community. For more information, please refer to the FY26 FAQs.

Note, individuals, for-profit organizations, and nonprofit organizations that are not tax exempt under section 501(c)(3) are ineligible to receive Brownfields Assessment Grants.

B. Threshold Criteria Applications must meet the following threshold criteria to be considered eligible to receive a Community-wide Assessment Grant for States and Tribes. Threshold criteria are pass/fail and are based on certain requests for information identified below. The information you submit will be used by EPA solely to make eligibility determinations for Brownfield Grants and is not legally binding for other purposes, including federal, State, or Tribal enforcement actions. Only those applications that pass all the threshold criteria will be evaluated against the review criteria in Section 6.B. of this announcement.

EPA will only accept one application per eligible State agency and one application per Tribal Nation. If EPA receives more than one application per State (regardless of if the applications are submitted by different eligible State agencies), EPA will only select the highest-ranking application that qualifies for selection.

Entities that are applying for an FY26 Community-wide Assessment Grant for States and Tribes may not apply for an FY26 Community-wide Assessment Grant, an FY26 Assessment Coalition Grant (or be a non-lead coalition member), or an FY26 Multipurpose Grant.

If a Tribe’s reservation is included in an application submitted by an intertribal consortium, that Tribal Nation may not also submit an application for an FY26 Community-wide Assessment Grant or an FY26 Assessment Coalition Grant.

Applicants may not submit multiple applications (i.e., submit applications for different projects) under this funding opportunity. EPA considers departments, agencies, or instrumentalities of the same State or Tribal governments to be the same applicant if they are directly supervised or controlled by the same elected/appointed executive (even if they have different unique entity identifier numbers). These eligibility determinations are made on a case-by-case basis since State and Tribal laws vary.

5 As defined in CERCLA § 101(27), the definition of State for purposes of the Brownfields Program “include[s] the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, and any other territory or possession over which the United States has jurisdiction.”

https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/frequently-asked-questions-about-multipurpose-assessment-rlf-and-cleanup-grants

Applicants that exceed the number and type of applications allowable will be contacted, prior to review of any of the applications by EPA, to determine which application(s) the applicant will withdraw from the competition.

If an application is submitted that includes any ineligible tasks or activities, that portion of the application will be ineligible for funding and may, depending on the extent to which it affects the application, render the entire application ineligible for funding.

EPA staff will respond to questions regarding threshold eligibility criteria, administrative issues related to the submission of the application, and requests for clarification about this announcement. For purposes of the threshold eligibility review, an EPA Brownfields Program representative, if necessary, may seek clarification of applicant information that is included in the application and/or consider information from other sources, including EPA files. Such communications shall not be used to correct application deficiencies or material omissions, materially alter the application or project proposed, or discuss changes to the applicant’s responses to any review or selection criteria.

To maintain the integrity of the competition process, EPA staff cannot meet with individual applicants to discuss draft applications, provide informal comments on draft applications, or provide advice to applicants on how to respond to narrative criteria. EPA’s limitations on staff involvement with grant applicants are described in EPA’s Policy for Competition of Assistance Agreements.

Applications must substantially comply with the submission instructions and requirements set forth in Section 4 of this announcement or they will be rejected.

Responses to each item below are required and must be included as an attachment to the Narrative that is included in the application submitted to EPA. See Section 4.A. for a complete list of required documents that must be submitted.

(1) Applicant Eligibility

a. From the list of eligible entities in Section 2.A. Eligible Applicants, indicate your applicant type and provide information that demonstrates how you are an eligible entity for an Assessment Grant.

• For entities that are States, Tribes, or eligible Tribal entities, affirm that the organization is eligible for funding.

• For Intertribal consortia, attach documentation that meets the requirements in 40 CFR § 35.504(a) and (c). All members of the Intertribal consortium must authorize the submission of an application.

(2) Community Involvement Provide information that demonstrates how you intend to inform and involve the community and other stakeholders in the planning, implementation, and other brownfield assessment activities described in your application.

https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57005a1-epas-policy-competition-assistance-agreements https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-35/subpart-B/subject-group-ECFR7560dab1b022383/section-35.504 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-35/subpart-B/subject-group-ECFR7560dab1b022383/section-35.504

(3) Expenditure of Existing Grant Funds Indicate if the applicant has an open6 EPA Brownfields Community-Wide Assessment Grant for States and Tribes.

Current EPA Brownfields Community-wide Assessment Grant for States and Tribes recipients must demonstrate that payment has been received from EPA (also known as “drawn down”), and drawn down funds have been disbursed for at least 60.00% of the funding for the Community-wide Assessment Grant for States and Tribes cooperative agreement they have with EPA by October 1, 2025, in order to apply for Assessment Grant funding under this funding opportunity.

To demonstrate this, applicants must attach a copy of a financial record displaying the amount of cooperative agreement funds drawn down and corresponding dates (e.g., a report from the Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP) or general ledger entries documenting receipts for funds drawn down from ASAP or the required State financial system). If necessary, applicants may contact the assigned EPA Project Officer for the cooperative agreement(s) or Elyse Salinas (brownfields@epa.gov) to obtain draw down information from EPA’s grant financial database (Compass Data Warehouse). Disbursements of drawn down funds must comply with requirements in EPA’s General Terms and Conditions for timely disbursement of EPA funds (i.e., recipients other than States must substantially disburse all of the funds within 5 business days of draw down).

(4) Target Areas and Priority Sites

Applicants must propose at least three target areas and at least five priority sites, including at least one priority site in each target area, in the Narrative. Provide a response to Section 4.B.(5) in the Application Information Sheet to address this threshold criterion. On the Application Information Sheet, list each target area and the address of each priority site.

Note, if the application is selected for funding, recipients must assess a minimum of 10 sites;

therefore, additional sites may be selected throughout the period of performance.

(5) Contractors and Named Subrecipients

Applicants using contractors and/or subrecipients should review Section 4.D. to ensure they comply with all applicable competitive procurement and/or subaward requirements.

• Contractors.

All applicants must disclose whether they have already selected a contractor that will be compensated with EPA funds made available under this NOFO and the procurement procedures that were followed to hire the contractor(s). If a contractor(s) has been selected prior to submitting the application to EPA (including when a contractor(s) has been selected under a “dual procurement process” for both grant proposal writing and grant

6 For the purposes of this requirement, the term “open” refers to a grant period of performance that has not ended.

mailto:brownfields@epa.gov http://www.epa.gov/grants/grant-terms-and-conditions implementation services), applicants (other than State, territory,7 Tribal, or eligible Tribal entity applicants)8 must describe:

- information on where and when the Request for Proposals/Request for

Qualifications was posted;

- the length of time the RFP/RFQ was advertised;

- the number of firms solicited and the number of offers received and considered; and

- the name(s) of the firm(s) the applicant entered into contract(s) with.

Provide a copy of (or link to) the solicitation document(s) and the signed executed contract(s).

Alternatively, state ‘n/a’ or ‘not applicable’ if a contractor has not been procured at the time of application submission.

• Named Subrecipients.

All applicants, describe how the named subrecipient is eligible for a subaward (e.g., is a nonprofit organization or unit of government). Alternatively, state ‘n/a’ or ‘not applicable’ if a subrecipient is not named at the time of application submission.

Failure to provide the requested information will result in rejection of the application. EPA staff may contact the applicant to clarify issues or obtain additional information before making a final eligibility determination. If EPA determines that the process you completed to select a contractor was not compliant with the federal regulations in 2 CFR Part 200 and 2 CFR Part 1500 and 40 CFR Part 33, and your application is selected for funding, you may need to prepare and issue a new RFP/RFQ that is compliant with federal procurement regulations. Additionally, EPA may review the new RFP/RFQ and selection process to ensure compliance with fair and open competition requirements. Please see Section 4.D. and Section D. in the FY26 FAQs for additional guidance.

Please see Section 6 for additional information on threshold review.

C. Cost Sharing Consistent with CERCLA § 104(k)(7), cost sharing and matching funds are not required under this competition. As provided in 2 CFR § 200.1, voluntary committed cost sharing is when an applicant voluntarily proposes to legally commit to provide costs or contributions to support the project when a cost share is not required. Voluntary cost share will not be accepted under this competition.

7 As defined in CERCLA § 101(27), the definition of State for purposes of the Brownfields Program “include[s] the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, and any other territory or possession over which the United States has jurisdiction.”

8 Consistent with 2 CFR § 200.317, State and Tribal applicants (including eligible Tribal entities) must follow the same policies and procedures they use for procurements with non-federal funds. If such policies and procedures do not exist, then the federal procurement standards at 2 CFR §§ 200.318 through 200.327 apply and must be followed.

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-B/chapter-XV/part-1500 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-33/subpart-C https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/frequently-asked-questions-about-multipurpose-assessment-rlf-and-cleanup-grants https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=3e88d9d4557754bcb781241135d934ae&mc=true&node=se2.1.200_11&rgn=div8 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-D/subject-group-ECFR45ddd4419ad436d/section-200.317 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-D/subject-group-ECFR45ddd4419ad436d?toc=1

3. Program Description A. Purpose, Priorities, and Activities

(1) Purpose EPA’s Brownfields Program provides funds to empower States, Tribal Nations, communities, and nonprofit organizations to prevent, inventory, assess, clean up, and reuse brownfield sites.

A brownfield site is defined in CERCLA § 101(39) as real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, contaminant, controlled substance, petroleum, or petroleum product, or is mine-scarred land.9

A critical part of EPA’s Brownfields Program is to ensure that residents living in communities historically affected by economic disinvestment, health disparities, and environmental contamination have an opportunity to benefit from brownfields redevelopment. EPA’s Brownfields Program is committed to helping communities revitalize brownfield properties, mitigate potential health risks, and restore economic vitality.

As described in Section 6 of this announcement, applications will be evaluated based on the extent to which the applicant demonstrates: a vision for the reuse and redevelopment of brownfield sites and a strategy for leveraging resources to help accomplish the vision; the environmental, social, health, and economic needs and benefits of the target areas; strong community engagement; reasonable costs, eligible tasks, and appropriate use of grant funding; the capacity for managing and successfully implementing the cooperative agreement; and other factors.

(2) Eligible Uses of Grant Funds Assessment Grant funds can be used for the direct costs associated with the inventory, site prioritization, community involvement, site reuse planning, assessment, and cleanup planning for brownfield sites. For examples of grant project accomplishments across the country, please see the EPA Brownfield Grant Recipients Success Stories.

Conducting Brownfields Planning & Developing Site Reuse Plans Successful brownfields reuse and redevelopment often depend on early consideration of the range of potential future uses for each brownfield site. Local community priorities, market conditions, infrastructure availability, environmental contamination, public health issues, and local ordinances shape brownfield site reuse opportunities. Having a site reuse plan grounded in these local conditions will directly influence how that site is characterized, assessed, and cleaned up.

Where multiple sites are connected through location, infrastructure, economic, social, and environmental conditions, EPA encourages communities to take an area-wide approach to planning for the assessment, cleanup, and reuse of these brownfield sites. This focus on multiple brownfield sites will result in more coordinated strategies for cleanup and area revitalization versus a site-by-site focus. For more information on site reuse plans and examples of eligible planning activities, please refer to the FY26 FAQs and Planning Program Fact Sheets.

9 The Understanding Brownfields Fact Sheet Series is available at www.epa.gov/brownfields/understanding-brownfields.

https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/success-stories https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/success-stories https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/frequently-asked-questions-about-multipurpose-assessment-rlf-and-cleanup-grants https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/information-eligible-planning-activities http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/understanding-brownfields http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/understanding-brownfields

Participant Support Costs Participant support costs, as defined in 2 CFR § 200.1, are allowable under Assessment Grants.

Examples of potentially allowable participant support costs include stipends for attendees at community meetings, attendee travel to community meetings, or childcare expenses to encourage attendance at community meetings. Please refer to the FY26 FAQs for additional details on the use of participant support costs.

A community liaison can serve as a key resource to help ensure the community members’ goals and interests are reflected in the planned reuse of individual brownfield sites as well as the revitalization of the areas in which they live, work, play, learn, and pray. In addition to the eligible uses of participant support costs described above, recipients may use a portion of the Assessment Grant for eligible participant support costs associated with a community liaison(s) who is not an employee of the grant recipient. This may include reasonable stipends to compensate an individual community member’s time and travel costs for participating in project-related meetings (e.g., meetings with the community, meetings held by a brownfields advisory board, etc.) and time associated with other specific tasks that are directly tied to related community engagement efforts. Note that stipends may only be paid for actual time spent working on tasks associated with the project and must not duplicate support provided through other Federal, State, Tribal, or local programs.

In their project descriptions, applicants should describe the process they will follow for determining the amounts of allowable stipends, procedures for accounting for participant support cost payments (including receipts), and procedures for documenting that the costs are allowable and do not duplicate other support for the individual(s). Additional information on participant support costs is available in EPA’s Guidance on Participant Support Costs.

In addition to direct costs associated with the inventory, site prioritization, community involvement, site reuse planning, assessment, and cleanup planning for brownfield sites, Assessment Grant funds may be used for:

1. Direct costs associated with programmatic management of the grant, such as required performance reporting and environmental oversight.

All costs charged to Assessment Grants must be consistent with the requirements at 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart E.

2. A local government (as defined in 2 CFR § 200.1, Local Government, and summarized in Section 2.A.

of these guidelines and the Health Monitoring Fact Sheet) may use up to 10% of its grant funds for the following activities:

a. health monitoring of populations exposed to hazardous substances from a brownfield site;

and

b. monitoring and enforcement of any institutional control used to prevent human exposure to any hazardous substance from a brownfield site.

3. A portion of the Brownfields Grant may be used to purchase environmental insurance. (See the FY26

FAQs for additional information on purchasing environmental insurance.)

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-A/subject-group-ECFR2a6a0087862fd2c/section-200.1 https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/frequently-asked-questions-about-multipurpose-assessment-rlf-and-cleanup-grants https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2020-11/documents/epa-guidance-on-participant-support-costs.pdf https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-E https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-E https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/section-200.1 https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/public-health https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/frequently-asked-questions-about-multipurpose-assessment-rlf-and-cleanup-grants

(3) Ineligible Uses of Grant Funds Grant funds cannot be used for the payment of:

1. Direct costs for proposal preparation;

2. a penalty or fine;

3. a federal cost share requirement consistent with 2 CFR § 200.306(b)(5) (i.e., a cost share required by other federal funds unless there is authority in another Federal statute to use Federal funds for cost share);

4. administrative costs, including all indirect costs and direct costs for grant administration, in excess of five (5) percent of the total amount of EPA grant funding, with the exception of financial and performance reporting costs (which are considered allowable programmatic costs and not subject to the 5% limitation);

5. a response cost at a brownfield site for which the recipient of the grant or a subaward is potentially liable under CERCLA § 107;

6. a cost of compliance with any federal law, excluding the cost of compliance with laws applicable to the cleanup; or

7. unallowable costs (e.g., lobbying) under 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart E.

See the FY26 FAQs for additional information on ineligible grant activities and unallowable costs.

(4) Measuring Environmental Results: Anticipated Outputs/Outcomes EPA requires that applicants adequately describe environmental outputs (performance measures) and outcomes to be achieved under assistance agreements.10 Applicants must include specific statements describing the environmental results of the proposed project in terms of well-defined outputs and, to the maximum extent practicable, well-defined outcomes that will demonstrate how the project will contribute to EPA’s goals and objectives described below in Section 3.B.

Applicants are required to describe how funding will help EPA achieve environmental outputs and outcomes in their responses to the narrative criteria in Section 4.C. Outputs and outcomes specific to each project will be identified as deliverables in the negotiated workplan if the application is selected for award. Recipients will be expected to report progress toward the attainment of expected project outputs and outcomes during the project performance period. Outputs and outcomes are defined as follows:

1. Outputs

The term “outputs” refers to an environmental activity, effort, and/or associated work product(s) related to an environmental goal or objective that will be produced or provided over a period of time or by a specified date. Outputs may be quantitative or qualitative but must be measurable during the project period. The expected outputs for the grants awarded under these guidelines may include but

10 EPA Order 5700.7, EPA’s Policy for Environmental Results under EPA Assistance Agreements is available at www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57007a1-epas-policy-environmental-results-under-epa-assistance-agreements.

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200#p-200.306(b)(5) https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-E https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/frequently-asked-questions-about-multipurpose-assessment-rlf-and-cleanup-grants http://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57007a1-epas-policy-environmental-results-under-epa-assistance-agreements are not limited to the number of brownfield sites identified in inventories, development of an area-wide plan, number of Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments, number of community meetings held, and number of Analysis of Brownfields Cleanup Alternatives (ABCA) completed.

2. Outcomes

The term “outcomes” refers to the result, effect, or consequence that will occur from carrying out the activities under the grant. Outcomes may be environmental, behavioral, health-related, or programmatic; must be qualitative or quantitative, and may not necessarily be achievable during the project period. Expected outcomes of Brownfield Grants include the number of jobs created and funding leveraged through the economic reuse of sites; the number of acres made ready for reuse;

acres of greenspace created for communities; and the minimized exposure to hazardous substances and petroleum contamination.

(5) Leveraging Leveraging is generally when an applicant commits to contributing additional funds or resources, either from its own assets or from third-party sources, such as private organizations or other federal grants, to support or complement the project they are seeking to fund. This contribution goes above and beyond the financial support provided by the EPA grant funds awarded and is intended to amplify the project’s impact. Leveraging demonstrates the applicant’s ability to secure and utilize supplementary resources to achieve greater outcomes. These resources are different from legally binding voluntary committed cost sharing as defined in 2 CFR § 200.1. Leveraged resources may materialize during the grant period of performance or after the grant has ended. Any leveraged funds/resources and their source must be identified in the Narrative. However, the leveraged funds/resources should not be included in the budget. Costs paid with leveraged funds/resources do not need to be eligible and allowable project costs under the EPA assistance agreement as would be the case for voluntary committed cost sharing, which is not allowed under this funding opportunity.

• Leveraging that will materialize during the grant: Leveraging that typically materializes during a Brownfields Grant Period of performance includes resources that are needed to support or complement the grant.11 Examples include additional public or private funds or in-kind resources for assessment, remediation, and/or subsequent reuse of the site. If applicants describe leveraged funds/resources, EPA expects applicants to make the effort to secure the leveraged resources described in their Narrative. If the proposed leveraging does not materialize during grant performance, then EPA may reconsider the legitimacy of the award and/or take other appropriate action as authorized by CERCLA § 104(k)(8)(C) and 2 CFR Parts 200 and 1500. The grant workplan must include a statement indicating that the applicant is expected to produce the proposed leveraging consistent with the terms of the announcement and the applicant's Narrative.

• Leveraging that will materialize after the Brownfields Grant has ended: Examples of leveraging that typically materialize after the Brownfields Grant has ended include resources for remediation, infrastructure updates, and reuse.12

11 If an applicant proposes to contribute leveraged resources to support or complement the grant, EPA will evaluate responses to the 3.a. Project Implementation criterion.

12 EPA will evaluate an applicant’s responses to the 1.f. Resources Needed for Site Reuse and 1.g. Use of Existing Infrastructure criteria.

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/section-200.1 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-B/chapter-XV/part-1500

B. Program Goals and Objectives The activities to be funded under this funding announcement support Pillar 1: Clean Air, Land, and Water for Every American and Pillar 3: Permitting Reform, Cooperative Federalism, and Cross-Agency Partnership of EPA’s “Powering the Great American Comeback” initiative.

The goal of the Brownfields Program is to provide grants to communities, states, Tribes, and others to assess and clean up contaminated properties with the aim of facilitating their sustainable reuse.

C. Statutory Authority CERCLA was amended by the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act in 2002 to include Section 104(k), which provides federal financial assistance authorities for brownfields revitalization, including grants for assessment, cleanup, and revolving loan funds. The Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development (BUILD) Act (Public Law 115-141) enacted in 2018 reauthorized EPA’s Brownfields Program and made additional amendments to CERCLA that affect EPA’s brownfield grant authorities, and ownership and liability provisions. (Note: References to CERCLA in this funding opportunity refer to CERCLA as amended by the 2002 Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act and the 2018 BUILD Act.)

The statutory authority for assistance agreements expected to be awarded by EPA under this announcement is CERCLA § 104(k)(2). This program is being funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58).

D. Funding Type It is anticipated that cooperative agreements will be funded under this funding opportunity.

Cooperative agreements provide for substantial involvement between the EPA Project Officer and the selected applicant(s) in the performance of the work supported. Although EPA will negotiate precise terms and conditions relating to substantial involvement as part of the award process, the anticipated substantial federal involvement for these projects may include, but is not limited to:

• Close monitoring of the successful applicant’s performance to verify the results proposed by the applicant.

• Collaboration during performance of the scope of work, including participation in project activities, to the extent permissible under EPA policies. Examples of collaboration include:

o Consultation between EPA staff and the recipients on effective methods of carrying out the scope of work provided the recipient makes the final decision on how to perform authorized activities.

o Advice from EPA staff on how to access publicly available information on EPA or other federal agency websites.

o With the consent of the recipient, EPA staff may provide technical advice to recipient contractors or subrecipients provided the recipient approves any expenditures of funds necessary to follow advice from EPA staff. (The recipient remains accountable for performing contract and subaward management as specified in 2 CFR §§ 200.317, 200.318, and 200.332, as well as the terms of the EPA cooperative agreement.)

o EPA staff participation in meetings, webinars, and similar events upon the request of the recipient or in connection with a co-sponsorship agreement.

https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-administrator-lee-zeldin-announces-epas-powering-great-american-comeback https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-D/subject-group-ECFR45ddd4419ad436d/section-200.317 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-D/subject-group-ECFR45ddd4419ad436d/section-200.318 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-D/subject-group-ECFR45ddd4419ad436d/section-200.322

• Reviewing and approving Quality Assurance Project Plans and related documents or verifying that appropriate Quality Assurance requirements have been met where quality assurance activities are being conducted pursuant to an EPA-approved Quality Assurance Management Plan.

• In accordance with 2 CFR § 200.325, review of proposed procurements, as well as the substantive terms of proposed contracts or subawards as appropriate. This may include reviewing requests for proposals, invitations for bids, scopes of work, and/or plans and specifications for contracts over the simplified acquisition threshold prior to advertising for bids.

• Approving qualifications of key personnel (EPA does not have the authority to and will not select employees or contractors employed by the award recipient).

• Review and comment on reports prepared under the cooperative agreement (the final decision on the content of reports rests with the recipient).

• Reviewing and approving that the Analysis of Brownfield Cleanup Alternatives (ABCA), or equivalent State Brownfields program document, meets the Brownfields Program’s requirements for an ABCA.

• Verifying sites meet applicable site eligibility criteria and ensuring that sites are consistent with the selection criteria outlined in the workplan.

• Participation in periodic telephone conference calls to share ideas, project successes and challenges, etc., with EPA.

4. Application Contents and Format A. Application Forms (Submission Checklist) The following forms and documents are required under this announcement:

Mandatory Documents:

1. Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424)

2. Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424A)

3. EPA Key Contacts Form 5700-54

4. EPA Form 4700-4 Preaward Compliance Review Report [Guidance on how to complete this form is available at www.epa.gov/grants/tips-completing-epa-form-4700-4.]

5. Project Narrative Attachment Form: use this to submit the following as one file, if possible

• Application Information Sheet (3-page limit, single-spaced)

• Application Information Sheet Attachment: Letter from the State or Tribal environmental authority (see Section 4.B.(9).)

• Narrative, which includes responses to the narrative criteria (12-page limit, single-spaced)

• Threshold Criteria Responses (as an attachment(s)):

o A statement of applicant eligibility if a State, Tribe, Intertribal Consortium, or eligible Tribal entity (see Section 2.B.(1).)

o Description of community involvement (see Section 2.B.(2).)

o Documentation of the available balance on the open Community-wide Assessment

Grant for States and Tribes; or an affirmative statement that the applicant does not have an open Community-wide Assessment Grant for States and Tribes (see Section 2.B.(3).)

o A statement on the number of target areas and priority sites (see Section 2.B.(4). and Section 4.B.(5).)

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/section-200.325 https://www.epa.gov/grants/tips-completing-epa-form-4700-4 o Discussion on contractors and named subrecipients as applicable; or an affirmative statement that a contractor has not been procured and a subrecipient has not been named (see Section 2.B.(5).)

o A copy of (or link to) the solicitation documents and the signed executed contract as applicable (see Section 2.B.(5).)

Optional Documents:

6. Grants.gov Lobbying Form – To be submitted by applicants requesting more than $100,000 of

EPA grant funding.

7. Negotiated/Proposed Indirect Cost Rate Agreement – To be submitted using the Project

Narrative Attachment Form by applicants proposing to charge indirect costs to the EPA grant.

Please note that applicants may budget for indirect costs pending approval of their Indirect Cost Rate Agreement by the cognizant Federal agency or an exception granted by EPA under section

6.3 or 6.4 of EPA’s Indirect Cost Policy for Recipients of EPA Assistance Agreements. However, recipients may not draw down indirect costs until their rate is approved or EPA grants an exception.

The application must stand on its own merits based on the responses to the relevant narrative criteria in Section 4.C.

All application materials must be in English. The Application Information Sheet and the Narrative must be typed, single-spaced, on letter-sized (8.5 x 11-inch) paper, and should use standard Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri fonts with a 12-point font size. The Application Submission Checklist above outlines the documents to include in the application. Extraneous materials, including photos, graphics, and attachments not listed, will not be considered.

B. Application Information Sheet The Application Information Sheet should address the information below and shall not exceed three single-spaced pages. Do not include a summary or overview of your narrative/project. Any pages submitted over the page limit or information beyond what is requested below will not be considered and may be redacted. EPA does not consider information in the Application Information Sheet to be responses to the narrative criteria. Provide the Application Information Sheet on the applicant’s official letterhead. You will not be penalized if you provide this information to EPA in a different format.

(1) Applicant Identification Provide the name and full address of the entity applying for funds. This is the agency or organization that will receive the grant and be accountable to EPA for the proper expenditure of funds.

(2) Website URL Provide the website URL of your organization. If selected for funding, EPA will include the link to your website on the Brownfields Grant Factsheet Tool.

(3) Funding Requested

a. Assessment Grant Type Indicate “Community-wide Assessment Grant for States and Tribes.”

b. Federal Funds Requested

$_________ (Include the amount being requested from EPA; must not exceed $2,000,000.)

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-08/documents/indirect-cost-policy-for-recipients-of-epa-assistance-agreements.pdf https://java.epa.gov/acrespub/gfs/

(4) Location Provide the a) city, b) county, and c) State or reservation, Tribally owned lands, Tribal fee lands, etc., of the community(ies) that you propose to serve.

(5) Target Area and Priority Site Information

• List the target areas and the priority sites discussed in the Narrative (at least three target areas and at least five priority sites, with at least one priority site in each target area).

• Provide the addresses of the priority sites proposed in the Narrative.

• (Optional) As a separate one-page attachment, you may include a map to visually depict the target areas and/or priority sites. Do not include any additional information or data on the map.

Maps will not be evaluated and will not count against the 3-page limit. Applicants that do not include a map will not be penalized.

(6) Contacts

a. Project Director Provide the name, phone number, email address, and mailing address of the Project Director assigned to this proposed project. This person should be the main point of contact for the project and should be the person responsible for the project’s day-to-day operations. The Project Director may be contacted if other information is needed.

b. Chief Executive/Highest-Ranking Elected Official Provide the name, phone number, email address, and mailing address of the applicant’s Chief Executive or highest-ranking elected official.

For example, if your organization is a municipal form of government, provide this information for the Mayor or County Commissioner. Otherwise, provide this information for your organization’s Executive Director or President. These individuals may be contacted if other information is needed.

(7) Population

• If you are a State or territory organization that covers a geographic area with more than one city/town, provide the population of the city(ies)/town(s) in which each priority site/target area is located.

• If you…