EPA-OSWER-OBLR-14-07 (A)-OBLR Final-additional other factor.pdf

OVERVIEW

AGENCY: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)

TITLE: FY15 Guidelines for Brownfields Assessment Grants

ACTION: Request for Proposals

RFP NO: EPA-OSWER-OBLR-14-07

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) NO.: 66.818

DATES: Proposals may be sent through the U.S. Postal Service, commercial delivery service, or electronically through www.grants.gov. Only one method should be used for the submission of the original, complete proposal package. Proposals sent through the U.S. Postal Service or via a commercial delivery service must be postmarked by December 19, 2014. Proposals sent electronically through www.grants.gov must be received by www.grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern

Time on December 19, 2014. Please refer to Section IV.B, Due Date and Mailing

Instructions, for further instructions.

SUMMARY: The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act

(“Brownfields Law”, P.L. 107-118) requires the U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) to publish guidance to assist applicants in preparing proposals for grants to assess and clean up brownfield sites. EPA’s Brownfields Program provides funds to empower states, communities, tribes, and nonprofits to prevent, inventory, assess, clean up, and reuse brownfield sites. EPA provides brownfields funding for three types of grants:

1. Brownfields Assessment Grants – provides funds to inventory, characterize, assess, and conduct planning (including cleanup planning) and community involvement related to brownfield sites.

2. Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grants – provides funds for a grant recipient to capitalize a revolving fund and to make loans and provide subgrants to conduct cleanup activities at brownfield sites.

3. Brownfields Cleanup Grants – provides funds to conduct cleanup activities at a specific brownfield site owned by the applicant.

Under these guidelines, EPA is seeking proposals for Assessment Grants only. If you are interested in requesting funding for Cleanup Grants, please refer to announcement EPA-OSWER-OBLR-14-08 (Cleanup Grant guidelines) posted separately on www.grants.gov and www.epa.gov/brownfields. Note: A solicitation for new Revolving Loan Fund Grants will not be issued in FY15.

EPA expects to solicit requests from existing, high performing RLF grantees http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/applicat.htm through a Federal Register notice for supplemental RLF funding in early

2015.

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

II.C for a description of EPA’s anticipated substantial involvement in the financial assistance agreements awarded under these guidelines.

EPA urges applicants to review the Frequently Asked Questions, which can be found at http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/proposal_guides/FY15_FAQs.pdf.

In addition, prior to naming a contractor or subawardee in your proposal, please carefully review Section IV.F of these guidelines.

FUNDING/AWARDS: The total funding available under the national competition for assessment and cleanup grants is estimated at $59.5 million subject to the availability of funds and other applicable considerations. EPA must expend 25 percent of the amount appropriated for brownfields grants on sites contaminated with petroleum. EPA anticipates awarding an estimated

255 grants among both grant types. Under this announcement, EPA anticipates awarding an estimated 165 assessment grants for an estimated $41.4 million.

CONTENTS BY SECTION

SECTION I - FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

I.A Description of Grant

I.B Uses of Grant Funds

I.C EPA Strategic Plan Linkage I.D Livability Principles and Sustainability I.E Measuring Environmental Results: Anticipated Outputs/Outcomes

SECTION II - AWARD INFORMATION

II.A What is the amount of available funding?

II.B What is the project period for awards resulting from this solicitation?

II.C Substantial Involvement

SECTION III - APPLICANT AND SITE ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

III.A Who Can Apply?

III.B Site Eligibility (Site-Specific Proposals Only) III.C Threshold Criteria for Assessment Grants

1. Applicant Eligibility

2. Letter from the State or Tribal Environmental Authority

3. Community Involvement

4. Site Eligibility and Property Ownership Eligibility (Site-Specific Proposals Only) .. 16

SECTION IV - PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INFORMATION

IV.A How to Obtain a Proposal Package IV.B Due Date and Mailing Instructions IV.C Content and Form of Proposal Submission

IV.D Intergovernmental Review http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/proposal_guides/FY15_FAQs.pdf

IV.E Voluntary Cost Share/Leveraging

IV.F Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated Into the Solicitation

SECTION V - PROPOSAL REVIEW INFORMATION

V.A Review and Selection Process

V.B Ranking Criteria for Assessment Grants

1. Community Need [50 Points]

2. Project Description and Feasibility of Success [50 Points]

3. Community Engagement and Partnerships [35 Points]

4. Project Benefits [25 Points]

5. Programmatic Capability and Past Performance [40 Points] V.C Other Factors V.D Proposal Checklist for Assessment Grants

SECTION VI - AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

VI.A Award Notices VI.B Administrative and National Policy Requirements

VI.C Reporting Requirements VI.D Brownfields Programmatic Requirements

VI.E Use of Funds VI.F Disputes VI.G Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated Into the Solicitation

SECTION VII – AGENCY CONTACTS – Regional Brownfields Contacts Appendix 1 Information on Sites Eligible for Brownfields Funding Under CERCLA §104(k) ...46

Appendix 2 Grants.gov Proposal Submission Instructions Appendix 3 Assessment Other Factors Checklist

SECTION I - FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA or the

Superfund law) was amended by the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields

Revitalization Act (Brownfields Law) to include section 104(k), which provides federal financial assistance for brownfields revitalization, including grants for assessment, cleanup, and revolving loan funds.

A brownfield site is defined as real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants, controlled substances, petroleum or petroleum products, or is mine-scarred land.

As described in Section V of this announcement, proposals will be evaluated based, among other factors, on the extent to which the applicant demonstrates: economic and environmental needs of the targeted communities; a vision for the reuse and redevelopment of brownfield sites and the capability to achieve that vision; reasonable and eligible tasks; partnerships and leveraged resources to complete the project; incorporation of livability and sustainability principles; and economic, environmental, health, and social benefits associated with the reuse and redevelopment of brownfield sites.

A critical part of EPA’s assessment and cleanup efforts is to ensure that residents living in communities historically affected by economic disinvestment, health disparities, and environmental contamination have an opportunity to reap the benefits from brownfields redevelopment. EPA’s Brownfields Program has a rich history rooted in environmental justice and is committed to helping communities revitalize brownfield properties, mitigate potential health risks, and restore economic vitality.

I.A Description of Grant

Assessment grants provide funding for developing inventories of brownfields, prioritizing sites, conducting community involvement activities and conducting site assessments and cleanup planning related to brownfield sites. Assessment grant funds may not be used to conduct cleanups. Assessment grants for individual applicants can be either community-wide or site-specific. Community-wide proposals are appropriate when a specific site is not identified and the applicant plans to spend grant funds on more than one brownfield in its community. Site-specific proposals are appropriate when a specific site has been identified and the applicant plans to spend grant funds on this one site only. The performance period for assessment grants is three years. For a list of certain grant and programmatic requirements, refer to Section VI.

1. Community-Wide Assessment Grants

For community-wide proposals, applicants may request up to $200,000 from the hazardous substances funding1 for sites with potential contamination of hazardous substances, 1 Sites eligible for hazardous substances 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 pollutants, or contaminants and up to $200,000 from the petroleum funding2 for sites with potential petroleum contamination. Applicants may either combine requests for hazardous substances funding and petroleum funding into one proposal if both types of funding will address the same target community for a total not to exceed $400,000; or applicants may submit separate proposals requesting up to $200,000 each for hazardous substances and petroleum funding. An applicant that submits a combined community-wide assessment grant proposal or two separate community-wide assessment grant proposals may also apply for a site-specific assessment grant.

2. Site-Specific Assessment Grants

For site-specific proposals, applicants may request up to $200,000 to address hazardous substances1 or petroleum contamination2 at a specified site. Applicants can apply for only one site-specific assessment grant. Site-specific assessment proposals must respond to the site eligibility threshold criteria in Section III.C.4. appropriate to the contamination at the site. If the site has both hazardous substance and petroleum contamination and the hazardous substance and petroleum-contaminated areas of the site are distinguishable, the proposal must address both eligibility criteria and indicate the dollar amount of funding requested for each type of contamination. If the petroleum and hazardous substances are not easily distinguishable, the applicant must indicate which contaminant is predominant based on available information and respond to the appropriate site eligibility criteria. (Contact your

Regional Brownfields Contact listed in Section VII for more information.) Note that an applicant cannot propose an alternate site if the site identified in the proposal is determined by EPA to be ineligible for brownfields funding. Applicants may request a waiver of the

$200,000 limit and request up to $350,000 for a single site based on the anticipated level of contamination, size, or status of ownership of the site. Applicants requesting a waiver must attach a one-page justification for the waiver request. Further pages will not be considered.

The justification should include a description of the extent of contamination at the site, the size of the site, and the reasons for requesting additional funding. For more information on the site-specific waiver justification, please refer to the Brownfields Frequently Asked

Questions (FAQs) at http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/proposal_guides/FY15_FAQs.pdf.

3. Coalition Assessment Grants

Additionally, assessment proposals may be submitted by one “lead” eligible entity on behalf of a coalition of eligible entities to create a “pool” of grant funds (see Section III.A for a list of entities eligible to apply for an assessment grant). A coalition is a group of three or more eligible entities that submits one grant proposal under the name of one of the coalition participants who will be the grant recipient, if selected. Coalition members may not have the same jurisdiction (for example, different departments in the same county) unless they are separate legal entities (for example, a city and a redevelopment agency). The grant recipient must administer the grant, be accountable to EPA for proper expenditure of the funds, and be lands. For more information on sites eligible for hazardous substance funding, please refer to the Brownfields FAQs at http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/proposal_guides/FY15_FAQs.pdf.

2 Sites eligible for petroleum funding are those sites that meet the definition set forth in CERCLA §

101(39)(D)(ii)(II), as further described in Appendix 1, Section 1.3.2.

the point of contact for the other coalition members. Coalition members may not be members of other coalitions or apply for their own assessment funding. Assessment coalitions may submit only one proposal with requested grant funding of up to $600,000. All coalition assessment grant proposals must be community-wide proposals; therefore, the applicant does not need to respond to the site eligibility threshold criteria in Section III.C.3.

Site eligibility will be determined after grant award and prior to expending grant funds at any site. Coalitions will be required to assess a minimum of five sites.

Please note that once the “lead” eligible entity submits the proposal it becomes the applicant and the coalition members may not substitute another eligible entity as the lead eligible entity after the deadline for submitting proposals has passed.

A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) documenting the coalition’s site selection process must be in place prior to the expenditure of any funds that have been awarded to the coalition. The coalition members should identify and establish relationships necessary to achieve the project’s goal. A process for successful execution of the project’s goal, to include a description and role of each coalition member, should be established along with the

MOA. The purpose of the MOA is for coalition members to agree internally about the distribution of funds and the mechanisms for implementing the assessment work. MOAs do not need to be included as part of your proposal.

Coalition members are not eligible as applicants for additional community-wide or site-specific assessment grants. A coalition member wishing to apply as a separate applicant must withdraw from the coalition to be eligible for individual assessment funds.

4. Assessment Grant Option Summary

Community-Wide Site-Specific Coalition

Up to $200,000 for hazardous substances and/or

$200,000 for petroleum

Up to $200,000 for hazardous substances or petroleum

Up to $600,000 for hazardous substances and/or petroleum

No waiver of funding limit May request a waiver for up to $350,000

No waiver of funding limit

Maximum combined amount $400,000

Maximum amount

$350,000

Maximum amount

$600,000

May also apply for a site-specific grant; may not apply as a member of a coalition

May also apply for a community-wide grant;

may not apply as a member of a coalition

May not apply for an individual community-wide or site-specific grant or as part of another coalition

Applicants that exceed the maximum number of proposals allowable for assessment grants will be contacted, prior to review of any of the proposals by EPA, to determine which proposals the applicant will withdraw from the competition.

For more information on a range of brownfields topics, please refer to the Brownfields FAQs at http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/proposal_guides/FY15_FAQs.pdf. If you do not have access to the Internet, you can contact your Regional Brownfields Contact listed in Section

VII.

I.B Uses of Grant Funds

In addition to direct costs associated with the inventory, assessment, and cleanup planning for brownfield sites, grant funds also may be used for the following activities:

Grant funds may be used for 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 applicable OMB Cost

Circulars. The cost principles for governmental units are found at 2 CFR Part 225.

A local government (as defined in 40 CFR Part 31.3, Local Government) may use up to 10 percent of its grant funds for any of the following activities:

a. health monitoring of populations exposed to hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants from a brownfield site;

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

c. other related program development and implementation activities (e.g., writing local brownfields-related ordinances) to effectively oversee assessments and cleanups described in an EPA-approved work plan.

The term local government does not include state or tribal governments but may include, among others, public housing authorities, school districts, and councils of governments.

A portion of the brownfields grant or loan may be used to purchase environmental insurance.

See the Brownfields FAQs at http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/proposal_guides/FY15_FAQs.pdf for additional information on purchasing environmental insurance.

Grant funds cannot be used for the following activities:

1. administrative costs, such as indirect costs, of grant administration with the exception of financial and performance reporting costs; and

2. proposal preparation costs.

See the Brownfields FAQs at http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/proposal_guides/FY15_FAQs.pdf for additional information on ineligible grant activities and ineligible costs.

I.C EPA Strategic Plan Linkage

EPA’s 2014-2018 Strategic Plan defines goals, objectives and sub-objectives for protecting human health and the environment. Brownfields assessment grants will support progress toward

Goal 3 (Cleaning Up Communities and Advancing Sustainable Development), Objective 3.1

(Promote Sustainable and Livable Communities). Specifically, these grants will help sustain, clean up and restore communities and the ecological systems that support them by providing funds to assess and clean up brownfield sites. EPA will negotiate work plans with recipients to collect information about the hazardous substances, pollutants and petroleum contaminants addressed and the amount of land made safe for communities’ economic and ecological use.

(View EPA’s Strategic Plan on the Internet at http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan and view EPA’s Order 5700.7A1 at http://www.epa.gov/ogd/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf )

I.D Livability Principles and Sustainability

Under the Program Benefits ranking criterion in Section V, applicants will be evaluated on how their proposed Brownfield Assessment project will advance the livability principles discussed above. In addition, the project will be evaluated on the extent to which it will lead to sustainable and equitable development outcomes as discussed below.

Link to the HUD-DOT-EPA Partnership for Sustainable Communities

EPA’s Brownfields Assessment Program is being carried out consistent with the principles for the Partnership for Sustainable Communities (PSC) established by the U.S. Department of

Housing and Urban Development (HUD), U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), and EPA.

The PSC was conceived to advance development patterns and infrastructure investment programs that achieve improved economic prosperity, and healthy, environmentally sustainable, and opportunity-rich communities for all Americans, regardless of race or income. Recognizing the fundamental role that public investment plays in achieving these outcomes, the

Administration charged three federal agencies whose programs impact the physical form of communities - HUD, DOT, and EPA - to coordinate and incorporate the Livability Principles into their policies and funding programs to the maximum degree possible. The Livability

Principles can be found at www.sustainablecommunities.gov and include: (1) provide more transportation choices; (2) promote equitable, affordable housing; (3) increase economic competitiveness; (4) support existing communities; (5) leverage federal investment; and (6) value communities and neighborhoods.

Linking BF Assessment Approaches to Sustainable and Equitable Development Outcomes

Applicants should incorporate sustainable and equitable reuse approaches into their proposed

Brownfield Assessment project. The Agency may also consider how well an applicant’s proposed project is coordinated with HUD, DOT, EPA programs and programs available from other potential federal and non-federal partners. Sustainable and equitable approaches can ensure brownfields are reused in ways that:

contribute to greener and healthier homes, buildings, and neighborhoods;

mitigate environmental conditions through effective deconstruction and remediation strategies which address solid and hazardous waste, and improve air and water quality;

improve access by residents to greenspace, recreational property, transit, schools, other nonprofit uses (e.g., libraries, health clinics, youth centers, etc.), and healthy and affordable food;

improve employment and affordable housing opportunities for local residents;

reduce toxicity, illegal dumping, and blighted vacant parcels; and http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan http://www.epa.gov/ogd/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf http://www.sustainablecommunities.gov/ retain residents who have historically lived within the area affected by brownfields.

Sustainable development practices facilitate environmentally-sensitive brownfields cleanup and redevelopment while also helping to make communities more attractive, economically stronger, and more socially diverse. While ensuring consistency with community-identified priorities, sustainable development approaches encourage brownfield site reuse in ways that provide new jobs, commercial opportunities, open space amenities, and/or social services to an existing neighborhood. Brownfields site preparation strategies that prevent contaminant exposure through green building design, materials recycling, enable urban agricultural reuse, promote walkability to/around the site and contribute to community walkability, and on-site stormwater management through green infrastructure, among other approaches, can contribute to sustainable development outcomes.

Equitable development outcomes come about when intentional strategies are put in place to ensure that low-income and minority communities not only participate in, but benefit from, decisions that shape their neighborhoods and regions. There are many different approaches that promote equitable development, such as ensuring a mix of housing types across a range of incomes; access to fresh food; access to jobs; and access to local capital. Programs or policies can be put in place to help ensure creation or integration of affordable housing; local or first-source hiring; minority contracting; inclusionary zoning (where a percentage of new housing is designated as affordable housing); healthy food retailers in places where they do not exist (e.g.

food deserts); co-operative ownership models where local residents come together to run a community-owned, jointly owned business enterprise; rent control or community land trusts (to help keep property affordable for residents); supportive local entrepreneurial activities; and adherence to equal lending opportunities.

EPA encourages applicants to provide specific examples of how the proposed Brownfield

Assessment project will work to remove economic, environmental and social barriers to make sustainable and equitable brownfields reuse of the highest priority.

I.E Measuring Environmental Results: Anticipated Outputs/Outcomes

Pursuant to EPA Order 5700.7, “Environmental Results under EPA Assistance Agreements,”

EPA requires that all grant applicants and recipients adequately address environmental outputs and outcomes.

EPA must report on the success of its Brownfields Program through measurable outputs and outcomes, such as the number of sites assessed, number of jobs created and amount of funding leveraged. Applicants are required to describe how funding will help EPA achieve environmental outputs and outcomes in their responses to the ranking criteria (Section V.B.2., Project

Description and Feasibility of Success). Outputs specific to each project will be identified as deliverables in the negotiated work plan if the proposal is selected for award. Grantees 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 products 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 are not limited to the number of brownfield sites identified, development of an area-wide plan, number of Phase I and Phase

II site assessments and number of community meetings held.

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 quantitative; and may not necessarily be achievable during the project period. Expected outcomes of brownfields grants include the number of jobs leveraged and other funding leveraged through the economic reuse of sites; the number of acres made ready for reuse or acres of greenspace created for communities; and whether the project will minimize exposure to hazardous substances.

SECTION II - AWARD INFORMATION

II.A What is the amount of available funding?

The total estimated funding available under the national competition for assessment and cleanup grants is estimated at $59.5 million subject to the availability of funds and other applicable considerations. A separate announcement is posted for the cleanup competition. EPA must expend 25 percent of the amount appropriated for brownfields grants on sites contaminated with petroleum. EPA anticipates awarding an estimated 255 grants among both grant types. Under this announcement, EPA anticipates awarding an estimated 165 assessment grants for a total amount of approximately $41.4 million in funding. In addition, EPA reserves the right to award additional grants under this competition should additional funding become available. Any additional selections for awards will be made no later than six months from the date of the original selection decision. EPA reserves the right to reject all proposals and make no awards under this announcement or make fewer awards than anticipated.

In appropriate circumstances, EPA reserves the right to partially fund proposals 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 a proposal, will do so in a manner that does not prejudice any applicants or affect the basis upon which the proposal, or portion thereof, was evaluated and selected for award.

II.B What is the project period for awards resulting from this solicitation?

The project period for assessment grants is up to three years.

II.C Substantial Involvement

The brownfield assessment grant will be awarded in the form of a cooperative agreement.

Cooperative agreements permit the EPA Project Officer to be substantially involved in overseeing the work performed by the selected recipients. Although EPA will negotiate precise terms and conditions relating to substantial involvement as part of the award process, the anticipated substantial federal involvement for this project may include:

close monitoring of the recipient’s performance to verify the results;

collaborating during performance of the scope of work;

reviewing substantive terms of proposed contracts;

reviewing qualifications of key personnel (EPA will not select employees or contractors employed by the award recipient);

reviewing and commenting on reports prepared under the cooperative agreement (the final decision on the content of reports rests with the recipient); and reviewing sites as meeting applicable site eligibility criteria.

SECTION III - APPLICANT AND SITE ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

III.A Who Can Apply?

The following information indicates which entities are eligible to apply for an assessment grant.

Nonprofit organizations are not eligible to apply for an assessment grant.

General Purpose Unit of Local Government. (For purposes of the brownfields grant program, EPA defines general purpose unit of local government as a “local government” as defined under 40 CFR Part 31.)

Land Clearance Authority or other quasi-governmental entity that operates under the supervision and control of, or as an agent of, a general purpose unit of local government.

Government Entity Created by State Legislature.

Regional Council or group of General Purpose Units of Local Government.

Redevelopment Agency that is chartered or otherwise sanctioned by a state.

State.

Indian Tribe other than in Alaska. (The exclusion of Alaskan tribes 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 VII.)

Alaska Native Regional Corporation, Alaska Native Village Corporation, and Metlakatla

Indian Community. (Alaska Native Regional Corporations and Alaska Native Village

Corporations are defined in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 and following). For more information, please refer to Brownfields FAQs at http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/proposal_guides/FY15_FAQs.pdf.)

Please note that applicants who received an Assessment grant from EPA in Fiscal Year

2014 (FY14) ARE eligible to apply under this competition.

III.B Site Eligibility (Site-Specific Proposals Only)

The following items provide important information related to determining if a proposed brownfield site is eligible for funding. Refer to this section when responding to the Threshold

Criteria in Section III.C.4. The information you submit will be used by EPA solely to make site eligibility determinations for Brownfields grants and is not legally binding for other purposes including federal, state, or tribal enforcement actions.

1. Basic Site Definition

To be eligible for a grant, sites must meet the definition of a brownfield as described in

Appendix 1.

The following types of properties are not eligible for brownfields funding:

facilities listed (or proposed for listing) on the National Priorities List (NPL);

facilities subject to unilateral administrative orders, court orders, administrative orders on consent, or judicial consent decrees issued to or entered into by parties under CERCLA; and facilities that are subject to the jurisdiction, custody, or control of the U.S.

government. (Note: Land held in trust by the U.S. government for an Indian tribe is eligible for brownfields funding.)

Property-Specific Determination for Eligibility

The following special classes of property require a “Property-Specific Determination” from

EPA to be eligible for brownfields funding:

properties subject to planned or ongoing removal actions under CERCLA;

properties with facilities that have been issued or entered into a unilateral administrative order, a court order, an administrative order on consent, or judicial consent decree or to which a permit has been issued by the United States or an authorized state under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the

Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA), the Toxic Substances Control Act

(TSCA), or the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA);

properties with facilities subject to RCRA corrective action (§3004(u) or §3008(h)) to which a corrective action permit or order has been issued or modified to require the implementation of corrective measures;

properties that are land disposal units that have submitted a RCRA closure notification or that are subject to closure requirements specified in a closure plan or permit;

properties where there has been a release of PCBs and all or part of the property is subject to TSCA remediation; and properties that include facilities receiving monies for cleanup from the Leaking

Underground Storage Tank (LUST) trust fund (see Appendix 1 for a definition of

LUST Trust Fund sites).

EPA’s approval of Property-Specific Determinations will be based on whether or not awarding a grant will protect human health and the environment and either promote economic development or enable the property to be used for parks, greenways, and similar recreational or nonprofit purposes. Property-Specific Determination requests must be attached to your proposal and do not count in the 15-page limit for Narrative Proposals. (See

Appendix 1, for more information or contact your Regional Brownfields Contact listed in

Section VII if you think your site requires a Property-Specific Determination.)

Additionally, applicants eligible for brownfields grant funds cannot be liable for contamination on the site. Site eligibility related to liability is determined differently at sites contaminated with hazardous substances than for sites contaminated by petroleum or petroleum product.

Hazardous Substances, CERCLA Liability, and Demonstration of a Bona Fide Prospective

Purchaser

Please see All Appropriate Inquiries (AAI) fact sheet, “EPA Brownfields Grants, CERCLA

Liability and All Appropriate Inquiries,” for more information:

http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/aai/aaicerclafs.pdf

For sites contaminated by hazardous substances, persons, including government entities, who may be found liable for the contamination under CERCLA §107 (the Superfund law) are not eligible for grants. Liable parties may include all current owners and operators, former owners and operators of the site at the time of disposal of hazardous substances, and parties that arranged for, or contributed to, the disposal or treatment of hazardous substances on the site. Therefore, even owners who did not cause or contribute to the contamination may be held liable. To be eligible for a site-specific brownfields grant to address contamination at a brownfields property, eligible entities who fall within one of the categories of potentially liable parties must demonstrate that they meet one of the liability protections or defenses set forth in CERCLA by establishing that they are: (1) an innocent landowner; (2) a bona fide prospective purchaser (BFPP); (3) a contiguous property owner; or (4) a local or state government entity that acquired the property involuntarily through bankruptcy, tax delinquency, or abandonment, or by exercising its power of eminent domain. To claim protection from liability as an innocent landowner, contiguous property owner, or bona fide prospective purchaser, property owners, including state and local governments, must conduct all appropriate inquiries prior to acquiring the property. (Please note that these requirements apply to all property acquisitions, including properties acquired by donation or title transfer at zero cost.)

Because current owners of contaminated property are potentially liable under CERCLA, all site-specific assessment grant applicants must demonstrate in their proposals that they are not a liable party by establishing that they meet the requirements of one of the liability protections or defenses set forth in CERCLA. For more information on these liability protections, please refer to the Brownfields Law, the April 2009 Fact Sheet entitled: “EPA

Brownfields Grants, CERCLA Liability and All Appropriate Inquiries,” and the March 6, 2003 EPA guidance entitled Interim Guidance Regarding Criteria Landowners Must Meet in

Order to Qualify for Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser, Contiguous Property Owner, or

Innocent Landowner Limitations on CERCLA (“Common Elements”)

(http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/documents/common-elem-guide.pdf). Applicants may also call the Regional Brownfields Contact listed in Section VII with questions about eligibility.

http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/aai/aaicerclafs.pdf http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/documents/common-elem-guide.pdf

The most common liability protection asserted by applicants is the bona fide prospective purchaser protection (BFPP). Although the statute limits eligibility for BFPP liability protection to entities that purchase property after January 11, 2002, a brownfields grant applicant can take advantage of this protection, for grant purposes only, even if it acquired a site prior to January 11, 2002. Applicants must demonstrate that they complied with all the other BFPP requirements listed below.

All disposal of hazardous substances at the site occurred before the person acquired the site.

The owner must not be liable in any way for contamination at the site or affiliated with a responsible party. Affiliations include familial, contractual, financial, or corporate relationships that are the result of a reorganization of a business entity with potential liability.

The owner must have conducted all appropriate inquiries (AAI) prior to acquiring the property. AAI, typically met by conducting a Phase 1 environmental site assessment using the ASTM E1527-13 standard practice, must be conducted or updated within one year prior to the date the property is acquired (i.e., the date on which the entity takes title to the property). In addition, certain aspects of the AAI or Phase I site assessment must be updated, prior to property acquisition, if the activities were conducted more than six months prior to the date of acquisition. Please see the fact sheet “EPA Brownfields Grants, CERCLA Liability and All Appropriate Inquiries,” or EPA’s AAI Final Rule (70 FR 66070)

(http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/aai/index.htm).

The owner must take appropriate care regarding any hazardous substances found at the site, including preventing future releases and exposures to hazardous substances on the site.

The owner must provide all legally required notices and cooperate with authorized response persons in the event of discovery or release of any hazardous substances at the site.

The owner must comply with any land-use restrictions associated with response actions at the site.

Petroleum Site Eligibility

The Brownfields Law outlines specific criteria by which petroleum sites may be eligible for brownfields grant funding. In contrast to eligibility of hazardous substance sites, which is related to the applicant’s potential liability under CERCLA, petroleum site eligibility is not related to potential liability under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which governs petroleum site liability. Instead, Congress set forth specific criteria briefly described as follows: the site must be of “relatively low risk,” there can be no viable responsible party, the applicant cannot be potentially liable for cleaning up the site, and the site must not be subject to a RCRA corrective action order. If a party is identified as being responsible for the site and that party is financially viable, then the site is not eligible for brownfields grant funds (refer to Appendix 1, Section 1.3.2 for more information). Generally, petroleum site eligibility will be determined by EPA or the state, as appropriate. Where the http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/aai/index.htm state is unable to make the eligibility determination, EPA will make the determination. EPA will make the determination for tribes.

III.C Threshold Criteria for Assessment Grants

This section contains the threshold eligibility criteria that ensure applicants are eligible to receive assessment grants. Threshold criteria are pass/fail. Threshold criteria include applicant eligibility and site eligibility (see also Section III.B). The information you submit will be used by EPA solely to make site eligibility determinations for Brownfields grants and is not legally binding for other purposes including federal, state, or tribal enforcement actions. Only those proposals that pass all the threshold criteria will be evaluated against the ranking criteria in Section V.B of this announcement.

Applicants deemed ineligible for funding consideration as a result of the threshold eligibility review will be notified within 15 calendar days of the ineligibility determination. Applicants must respond to the items listed below to ensure that they are eligible for funding.

Your responses to these items are required and must be included as an attachment to the

Narrative Proposal and transmittal letter you submit to EPA. See Section IV.C for a complete list of required proposal content.

For purposes of the threshold eligibility review, EPA, if necessary, may seek clarification of applicant information and/or consider information from other sources, including EPA files.

Proposals must substantially comply with the proposal submission instructions and requirements set forth in Section IV of this announcement or they will be rejected. Pages in excess of the page limits described in Section IV for the narrative proposal and transmittal letter, and attachments not specifically required, will not be reviewed.

Proposals must be postmarked (if sent by hard copy), or received electronically at www.grants.gov, by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on December 19, 2014. Proposals postmarked or received at www.grants.gov after the proposal deadline will be considered late and will not be reviewed unless the applicant can clearly demonstrate that it was late due to EPA mishandling or because of technical problems attributable to www.grants.gov. Applicants will receive correspondence, via email, confirming receipt of their proposal within 30 days of submission deadline. If the applicant is not in receipt of the confirmation email, the applicant should confirm with the appropriate Regional Brownfields Contact listed in Section VII or contact Jerry

Minor-Gordon at 202-566-1817 or minor-gordon.jerry@epa.gov. Failure to do so may result in your proposal not being reviewed. Facsimile or email delivery of proposals is not permitted and will not be considered.

There is no required cost share for assessment grants. See Section IV.E for information on leveraging.

mailto:minor-gordon.jerry@epa.gov

1. Applicant Eligibility

Applicants must demonstrate that they are an eligible entity for an assessment grant. Refer to the description of applicant eligibility in Section III.A, Who Can Apply? For entities other than cities, counties, tribes, or states, please attach documentation of your eligibility (e.g., resolutions, statutes, etc.).

Coalitions applying for assessment grants must document how all coalition members are eligible entities. All coalition members must submit a letter to the grant applicant (lead coalition member) in which they agree to be part of the coalition. Attach these letters to your proposal.

2. Letter from the State or Tribal Environmental Authority

For an applicant other than a state or tribal environmental authority, attach a current letter from the appropriate state or tribal environmental authority acknowledging that the applicant plans to conduct assessment activities and is planning to apply for federal grant funds.

Failure to submit this letter will result in the rejection of the proposal for further consideration. Letters regarding proposals from prior years are not acceptable. If you are applying for multiple types of grant program activities, you need to receive only one letter acknowledging the relevant grant activities. However, you must provide a copy of this letter as an attachment to each proposal. Please note that general correspondence and documents evidencing state involvement with the project (i.e., state enforcement orders or state notice letters) are not acceptable. It is the applicant’s responsibility to provide advance notice to the appropriate state or tribal environmental authority to allow adequate time for you to obtain the acknowledgement letter and attach it to your proposal.

3. Community Involvement

All applicants must demonstrate how they intend to inform and involve the community and other stakeholders during the planning, implementation and other brownfield assessment activities described in their proposal.

4. Site Eligibility and Property Ownership Eligibility (Site-Specific Proposals Only)

If the site is a hazardous substances site, please respond to items a-h.

If the site is a petroleum site, please respond to items a-d and i, including the requirement to provide a petroleum determination letter.

If the site is commingled hazardous substance and petroleum, the applicant must determine whether the predominant contaminant is petroleum or hazardous substances, and respond to the corresponding items (as noted above).

If applicants are applying for petroleum and hazardous substances funding at the same site, and the hazardous substance and petroleum contaminated areas of the site are distinguishable, the proposal must respond to items a – i, including the requirement to provide a petroleum determination letter.

Refer to III.B, Site Eligibility (Site-Specific Proposals Only) when responding to this section.

Site Eligibility

a. Basic Site Information Identify: (a) the name of the site; (b) the address of the site, including zip code; and (c) the current owner of the site.

b. Status and History of Contamination at the Site Identify: (a) whether this site is contaminated by petroleum or hazardous substances; (b) the operational history and current use(s) of the site; (c) environmental concerns, if known, at the site; and (d) how the site became contaminated, and to the extent possible, describe the nature and extent of the contamination.

c. Sites Ineligible for Funding Affirm that the site is: (a) not listed or proposed for listing on the National Priorities List; (b) not subject to unilateral administrative orders, court orders, administrative orders on consent, or judicial consent decrees issued to or entered into by parties under CERCLA; and (c) not subject to the jurisdiction, custody, or control of the U.S. government. (Note: Land held in trust by the U.S. government for an Indian tribe is eligible for brownfields funding.) Please refer to CERCLA §§ 101(39)(B)(ii), (iii), and (vii) and Appendix 1.

d. Sites Requiring a Property-Specific Determination Certain types of sites require a property-specific determination in order to be eligible for funding. Please refer to

Appendix 1, Section 1.5, to determine whether your site requires a property-specific determination. If your site requires a property-specific determination, then you must attach the information requested in the Brownfields FAQs, http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/proposal_guides/FY15_FAQs.pdf.

Property Ownership Eligibility

EPA grant funding may not be used to pay for response costs at a brownfield site for which the recipient of the grant is potentially liable under CERCLA §107. The following items are intended to help EPA ensure that you are not liable under CERCLA for response costs at the site designated in your proposal, or determine, if necessary, that your site is eligible for funding as a petroleum site. Please respond to the following items fully and in the order that they appear (note that based on your responses, EPA may need to obtain additional information to make this determination).

e. CERCLA § 107 Liability Affirm that you are not potentially liable for contamination at the site under CERCLA §107 (e.g., as a current owner or operator of a facility, an owner or operator of a facility at the time of disposal of a hazardous substance, a party that arranged for the treatment or disposal of hazardous substances, or a party that accepted hazardous substances for transport to disposal or treatment facilities at the site) by establishing that you are eligible for one of the CERCLA liability protections or defenses

(see Section III.B.3) and explain why. Please note that brownfields grant applicants that otherwise meet the requirements for a bona fide prospective purchaser, except for having acquired the property prior to January 11, 2002, may still be eligible for brownfields grants. For further information, please see FAQs on All Appropriate

Inquiries for more information at,

f. Enforcement or Other Actions Identify known ongoing or anticipated environmental enforcement or other actions related to the brownfield site for which funding is sought.

Describe any inquiries, or orders from federal, state, or local government entities that the applicant is aware of regarding the responsibility of any party (including the applicant) for the contamination, or hazardous substances at the site, including any liens. The information provided in this section may be verified, and EPA may conduct an independent review of information related to the applicant’s responsibility for the contamination or hazardous substances at the site.

g. Information on Liability and Defenses/Protections Where Applicant Does NOT

Own the Site If you, the applicant, do not own the site to be assessed, please:

i) affirm that you did not arrange for the disposal of hazardous substances at the site or transport hazardous substances to the site, and that you did not cause or contribute to any releases of hazardous substances at the site;

ii) describe your relationship with the owner and the owner’s role in the work to be performed; and

iii) indicate how you will gain access to the site.

h. Information on Liability and Defenses/Protections Where Applicant Owns the Site or Will Own the Site During the Performance of the Grant If you, the applicant, own the site to be assessed or will own the site at some point during the performance of the grant, please respond to the following:

i) Information on the Property Acquisition To save space, you may combine responses to the following into one response, though please be sure to answer each item fully.

Describe:

1. how…