The Brownfields and Land Revitalization Technology Support Center
Provided by the U.S. EPA, Argonne National Laboratory, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Brownfields Conferences Co-Sponsorship 2013-2017 - Request for Proposals
EPA is announcing the availability of funds and soliciting proposals from certain eligible entities, including non-profits, for financial assistance to support the Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization in planning three national Brownfields conferences to be held over a five-year period, beginning in 2012. EPA anticipates awarding one cooperative agreement with total estimated funding of $900,000. The Brownfields conferences provide training, research and technical assistance to communities to facilitate the inventory of brownfield sites, site assessments and remediation of brownfield sites, community involvement, and site preparation. The successful applicant will be the primary non-federal co-sponsor for the conference and EPA will be the primary federal co-sponsor. The deadline for submitting proposals is February 10, 2012.

Brownfields Multi-Purpose Pilot Grant Guidelines – Request for Proposals
The EPA is piloting a new grant program that will provide a single grant to an eligible entity for both assessment and cleanup work at a specific brownfield site owned by the applicant. These grants may be used to address sites contaminated by petroleum or hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants (including hazardous substances co-mingled with petroleum). An applicant may request up to $200,000 ($350,000 with a waiver) for assessment activities and $200,000 for direct cleanup activities at the same site. The total available for each grant is $400,000 or $550,000 with a waiver. Only applicants who have received an EPA Brownfields grant in 2003 or later are eligible to apply for the multi-purpose pilot grant. The proposal deadline is February 10, 2012.

Funding Guidance for State and Tribal Response Programs
Section 128(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended, authorizes a noncompetitive $50 million grant program to establish and enhance state and tribal response programs. Generally, these response programs address the assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment of brownfields sites and other sites with actual or perceived contamination. This document provides guidance that will enable states and tribes to apply for and use Fiscal Year 2011 section 128(a) funds. The application deadline is January 31, 2012.

EPA Requests Proposals for Urban Waters Small Grants
The EPA expects to award between $1.8 to $3.8 million in funding for projects across the country to help restore urban waters by improving water quality and supporting community revitalization. The funding is part of EPA’s Urban Waters program, which supports communities in their efforts to access, improve, and benefit from their urban waters and the surrounding land. Healthy and accessible urban waters can help grow local businesses and enhance educational, recreational and employment opportunities in nearby communities. The goal of the Urban Waters Small Grants program is to fund research, studies, training, and demonstration projects that will advance the restoration of urban waters by improving water quality through activities that also support community revitalization and other local priorities such as public health, social and economic opportunities, general livability and environmental justice for residents. Information about Urban Waters Small Grants including the Request for Proposal (RFP) and registration links for the webinars is available at http://www.epa.gov/urbanwaters/funding.

Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grants
Twenty-one communities in 20 states were selected to receive more than $6.2 million in Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training (EWDJT) grants to recruit, train, and place, local, unemployed, predominantly low-income and minority, residents in environmentally-impacted communities. The Agency's EWDJT Program, formerly referred to as the "Brownfields Job Training Grant Program," helps provide unemployed and under-employed individuals with the necessary skills to secure full-time, sustainable employment in the environmental field. The 21 communities will receive up to $300,000 each to train individuals in the cleanup of contaminated sites and in health and safety, while also providing training in other environmental skills, such as recycling center operator training, green building design, energy efficiency, weatherization, solar installation, construction and demolition debris recycling, emergency response, and native plant revegetation.

Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund (RLF), Cleanup Grants & Supplemental Funding for RLF grants
Communities in 40 states and 3 Tribes will share $76 million in EPA Brownfields grants to help clean up, revitalize, and sustainably reuse contaminated properties, turning them from problem properties to productive community use. The grants, awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will provide funding to eligible entities through brownfields assessment, revolving loan fund, and cleanup grants. Since the beginning of the Brownfields Program, EPA has awarded 1,895 assessment grants totaling $447.6 million, 279 revolving loan fund grants totaling $273.1 million and752cleanup grants totaling $140.8 million.

RE-Powering America's Land: Siting Renewable Energy on Potentially Contaminated Land and Mine Sites initiative
Through its RE-Powering America's Land: Siting Renewable Energy on Potentially Contaminated Land and Mine Sites initiative, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is soliciting applications from states, tribes, regional governments, and communities that want to evaluate the potential development of renewable energy on potentially or formerly contaminated properties. This evaluation will be in the form of a feasibility study conducted by the Department of Energy National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) that will determine the best renewable energy technology for the site, the optimal location for placement of the renewable energy technology, potential energy generating capacity, the return on the investment, and the economic feasibility of the renewable energy projects. The purpose of the technical assistance is to reuse sites, improve communities, create jobs, develop partnerships, decrease the use of greenspace for siting renewable energy, and increase the amount of renewable energy generated. Proposals are due to EPA Friday May 20

23 Communities selected for new Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Pilot Program
EPA is providing assistance to 23 communities to facilitate community involvement in developing an area-wide plan for brownfields assessment, cleanup and subsequent reuse. Pilot program recipients will each receive up to approximately $175,000 in grant funding and/or direct technical assistance from the Agency.

Supplemental Funding for Revolving Loan Fund Grants
Communities in 27 state or local governments will receive over $16 million in supplemental funding for brownfields revolving loan fund grants to help communities carry out cleanup activities, redevelopment projects, and create jobs for local residents living near brownfields sites.

HUD Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grants
HUD is launching a $100 million Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program to create stronger, more sustainable communities by connecting housing to jobs, fostering local innovation and building a clean energy economy. The Regional Planning grants will be awarded competitively to multi-jurisdictional and multi-sector partnerships as well as regional consortia consisting of state and local governments, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), educational institutions, non-profit organizations and philanthropic organizations.

Climate Showcase Communities Grants
The Climate Showcase Communities grant program will assist local and tribal governments in developing plans, conducting demonstrations, and implementing projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions while achieving additional environmental, economic, public health, and/or community benefits. The overall goal of the Climate Showcase Communities program is to create replicable models of sustainable community action that generate cost-effective and persistent greenhouse gas reductions while improving the environmental, economic, public health, or social conditions in a community. EPA anticipates awarding up to approximately 30 cooperative agreements from this announcement subject to availability of funds.

Upcoming related events include the following:

11th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth: Building Safe, Healthy, and Livable Communities - February 2-4, 2012, San Diego, California
The program includes a dynamic mix of plenaries, breakouts, implementation workshops, trainings, networking activities, and exciting tours of local model projects. There is something for everybody, from veteran experts to smart-growth novices, with over 100 sessions and workshops. Learn from hundreds of speakers who cross disciplines to share insights, and valuable tools and strategies for making smart growth a success in your community. The program will be infused with sessions and case studies focusing on equity and environmental justice issues.

2012 North American Environmental Field Conferences & Expos - February 7-10, 2012, San Diego, California
The conference will feature more Than 60 Hours of Interactive Indoor Workshops, Presented by Some of the World's Foremost Authorities in the Field, Discussing Cutting-Edge Field-Based Technologies and Methods for Environmental Site Characterization, Sampling, Monitoring, and Remediation. Topics Include Real-Time, High Resolution Site Charactrerization Methods and Case Histories; New Environmental Applications of Cone Penetration Testing and Direct-Push Technology; Advances in Hydraulic Conductivity Testing and Ground-Water Flow Measurement; Practical Guidelines for Vapor Intrusion Investigations; Innovative Soil and Ground-Water Sampling and Field Analytical Methods; Accelerated Site Remediation Using Surfactants, and Bioaugmentation.

2012 North American Environmental Field Conferences & Expos - March 13-16, 2012, Tampa Bay, Florida
The conference will feature more Than 60 Hours of Interactive Indoor Workshops, Presented by Some of the World's Foremost Authorities in the Field, Discussing Cutting-Edge Field-Based Technologies and Methods for Environmental Site Characterization, Sampling, Monitoring, and Remediation. Topics Include Real-Time, High Resolution Site Charactrerization Methods and Case Histories; New Environmental Applications of Cone Penetration Testing and Direct-Push Technology; Advances in Hydraulic Conductivity Testing and Ground-Water Flow Measurement; Practical Guidelines for Vapor Intrusion Investigations; Innovative Soil and Ground-Water Sampling and Field Analytical Methods; Accelerated Site Remediation Using Surfactants, and Bioaugmentation.

Federal Economic Development Forum - March 18-20, 2012, Alexandria, Virginia
Federal policies and programs are continually changing to address the effects of the Great Recession and build U.S. global competitiveness. How can you navigate and capture federal resources to grow innovation and investment in your community? Economic developers play a front-line role in connecting Washington policies and programs with local and state efforts to create jobs and increase investment. You'll hear top national officials, thought leaders and senior program administrators address how federal resources can help your community strengthen its infrastructure, attract private investment, foster innovation and integrate globally.

National Tanks Conference & Expo - March 19-21, 2012, St. Louis, Missouri
The 2012 National Tanks Conference & Expo agenda features sessions covering a wide range of underground storage tank topics – including operator training, remediation technologies, and vital financial issues. In addition to the educational sessions, ample opportunities for informal networking will be provided, allowing you to share knowledge and experiences with fellow attendees. The Expo will once again feature informative booths from states, tribes, and federal agencies, as well as displays from vendors.

The BTSC provided three training sessions on current best management practices (BMPs) in three Brownfields-related areas on Monday, April 4th, and Tuesday, April 5th at the Brownfields 2011 Conference. In addition, on April 6th, a Small and Disadvantaged Businesses (SDB) Listening Session was held in the morning and a SDB and Large Businesses Networking Session was held in the afternoon.

Visit the Learning Opportunities page for details about BTSC training at Brownfields 2011.