Brownfields Buzz

Your hub for brownfields spotlights, tools, events, news, and more

September, 2024

Spotlight

The Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfields Program is a vital tool for Economic Development Districts (EDDs) to use when driving transformative economic impact and targeted neighborhood revitalization. EDDs may be familiar with the Assessment, Cleanup, and Coalition grant opportunities through the Brownfields program, but may have not considered how their region can utilize existing RLF staff experience to establish Regional Brownfields RLFs for their region. The Tools of the Trade: Regional Brownfields RLFs for EDDs resource, which KSU TAB helped develop, will address some key points in establishing a regional Brownfields RLF and provide helpful tips for getting a regional or local-specific program off the ground. Check out the full resource guide here.

Toolbox

The City Health Dashboard is an online dashboard that offers data on health and general health indicators for approximately 950 cities across the United States. By collecting data related to Health Outcomes, Social and Economic Factors, Health Behavior, Physical Environment, and Clinical Care, the Dashboard can provide comparative data on dozens of metrics to help tell the story of your community’s health, which may be useful in preparing grant applications or identifying areas of community need. Click here to check out the Dashboard!

Events

Brightfields Academy Workshop #2:

Evaluating Brownfield Site Feasibility for Clean Energy Reuse

Register here for the upcoming “Evaluating Brownfield Site Feasibility for Clean Energy Reuse " workshop on 9/26 @2PM CT. This workshop is the second in this five-part series. The workshop aims to educate participants on evaluating site feasibility by analyzing critical factors, and train participants on using various tools to assess these factors, and determine opportunities, challenges, and risks for renewables development.

Make sure to watch for registration information to attend the rest workshops of the 2024 Brightfields Academy:

Workshop #3, 2:30 PM CT October 22: Strategically Integrating Brightfields into Brownfield Grant Applications Part I
Workshop #4, 10AM CT November 7: Strategically Integrating Brightfields into Brownfield Grant Applications Part II
Workshop #5, 2PM CT December 10: Beyond Brownfield Grants: Understanding Funding and Financing Opportunities for Brightfields

For any questions about the Brightfields Academy, direct technical assistance for your project, access to recordings and resources from Workshop 1, or to be added to the email list for future updates, please contact Jubing Ge at jge@rmi.org.

In addition, KSU TAB has regional and national events that will be scheduled throughout the year. Please visit our Events webpage to find an event near you!

News & Noteworthy

FY25 Brownfields Grant Competition Has Begun

The FY25 Brownfield Assessment, Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund and Cleanup grant guidance documents have been released by the EPA. The grant guidelines for the Community-wide Assessment, Assessment Coalition, Community-wide Assessments for States and Tribes, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Grants, along with other important EPA resources can be found here. The application deadline is November 14, 2024.

Check out this Special Edition of the Brownfields Buzz that was sent out earlier in September for all kinds of valuable information to help you along in your grant writing adventure including:

TAB EZ Grant Writing E-Tool
Proposal reviews by grant writing experts
EPA Grant Competition Resources

New Brownfields Job Training Technical Assistance Provider

KSU JT-TAB filled a gap in technical assistance providers, at the request of EPA, during the January to September 2024 time period. EPA has designated Tetra Tech, and their subcontractor Adaapta, as the assistance provider starting in October 2024. Resources are being transitioned to the EPA Brownfields Job Training web site. Visit the KSU JT-TAB webpage for more information. For Brownfields Job Training Technical Assistance, please use the Technical Assistance Inquiry Form.

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