FY27 Guidelines for Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund Grants

Open Posted

Opportunity number
EPA-OLEM-OBLR-26-05
Agency
Applications due
Award size
Up to $1,000,000

Opportunity facts

Funding instrument
Cooperative Agreement
Category
  • Environment
Eligible applicants
  • Other
Points of contact

Opportunity details come from Grants.gov. Updated .

About this opportunity

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is soliciting applications for FY27 Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund cooperative agreements under CFDA 66.818, with applications due January 21, 2027 at 11:59 pm ET. Eligibility is limited to government organizations, federally recognized Tribes, and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. Only entities without an open Brownfields RLF cooperative agreement at the time of application may apply, and that restriction extends to non-lead coalition members. Applicants must provide a mandatory 20% cost share of federal funds, waived for U.S. Territories, which may be contributed as money, labor, materials, or services.

EPA expects approximately 10 awards totaling $10 million, with individual awards up to $1 million and a 5-year project period. Recipients must use at least 50% of total award funds (EPA funds plus cost share) for loans and associated eligible programmatic costs, and administrative costs are capped at 5% of the total award amount. Funds capitalize a revolving fund that provides loans and subgrants for cleanup of brownfield sites contaminated with hazardous substances and/or petroleum. EPA determines site eligibility after award and before any funds are spent at a site.

Threshold criteria require legal authority to manage an RLF, a current letter from the State or Tribal environmental authority, organizational capacity, and compliance with federal procurement and subaward requirements. Coalitions are permitted with a lead entity and non-lead members, and must execute Memoranda of Agreement documenting their site selection process before expending funds.

Applications are scored on 185 points: Project Area Description and Plans for Revitalization (45), Community Need and Community Engagement (35), Task Descriptions, Cost Estimates, and Measuring Progress (65), and Programmatic Capability and Past Performance (40). Submissions go through Grants.gov and include SF-424, SF-424A, EPA Key Contacts Form 5700-54, EPA Form 4700-4, a 3-page Application Information Sheet, a 12-page Narrative Criteria Response, and threshold eligibility documentation. Selection notification is anticipated in June 2027 and award notification in September 2027.

Synopsis

This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits applications from eligible entities to capitalize a revolving loan fund (RLF) to provide loans and subgrants to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites. Eligible entities include government organizations, Federally recognized Tribes, and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations.

Please see Section 2.A. for the complete list of eligible entities. Applications must meet all threshold eligibility criteria in Section 2.B. and the 20% cost share requirement in Section 2.C. to be considered eligible to receive an RLF Grant.

RLF programs provide loans and subgrants to eligible entities to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites contaminated with hazardous substances1 and/or petroleum.2 EPA will determine site eligibility after the award of the grant throughout the project period, prior to expending grant funds at any site. Sites where hazardous substances and petroleum contamination are distinguishable must meet eligibility requirements for both contaminants. See Section 3.A.1. for RLF Grant features and Section 3.A.2. on the requirement to use 50% or more of the total award amount (EPA funds plus the applicant's cost share) to provide loans and associated eligible programmatic costs.

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) requires applicants to provide a 20% cost share of the federal funds for RLF Grants. For example, a $1,000,000 RLF Grant awarded by EPA will require the recipient to provide a $200,000 cost share. The cost share, which may be in the form of a contribution of money, labor, material, or services, must be for eligible and allowable costs under the grant, as described in the grant regulations at 2 CFR § 200.306. See

Section 2.C. for details.

Only eligible entities that do not have, or are not a part of (i.e., a non-lead coalition member), an open cooperative agreement for a Brownfields RLF at the time of application may apply for funding under this solicitation. An "open" cooperative agreement is one in which the Period of performance, as defined in 2 CFR § 200.1, has not yet ended. The period of performance is specified in EPA's initial or amended "Notice of Award."

Grant recipients with an open Brownfields RLF cooperative agreement may request additional funding to capitalize their RLF program through EPA's annual, non-competitive, supplemental funding process. Additional information on the timing, requirements, and procedures for supplemental funding requests will be available on EPA's Brownfields RLF Website.

Eligibility

See Section 2 of the full announcement for eligibility information.

Files

File Type Posted
FY27_BF_RLF_NOFO_Final_v1.pdf PDF
PKG00294503.pdf PDF

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