Brownfields Training, Research,
and Technical Assistance Grant
Fact Sheet

National Association of Development Organizations

EPA BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, tribes, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield site is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. EPA funds eligible applicants through assistance agreements to provide training, research, and technical assistance to facilitate brownfields revitalization.

ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION

The National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) provides advocacy, education, research, and training for the nation's regional development organizations. NADO offers its members access to a variety of services and benefits-all of which are designed to enhance the ability of regional development organizations to foster regional solutions to local government, business, and community needs.

The non-profit affiliate of NADO is the NADO Research Foundation. It identifies and shares the best practices among regional approaches to community and economic development, analyzes the impact of federal policies and programs on regional development organizations, and examines the latest developments and trends in small metropolitan and rural America. Most importantly, the Research Foundation helps bridge the communications gap among practitioners, researchers, and policymakers. Since 1998, the NADO Research Foundation has worked to identify obstacles to rural and small community brownfields redevelopment, as well as raise awareness about, and examine issues related to, brownfields revitalization and redevelopment in small metropolitan areas and rural America.

RURAL AND SMALL COMMUNITY BROWNFIELDS REDEVELOPMENT CAPACITY BUILDING INITIATIVE

Grantee
National Association of Development Organizations

Project Focus:
Training, Research, and Technical Assistance for Small and Rural Communities

Project Period:
October 2003 to September 2008

Project Description:
NADO Research Foundation enhanced its brownfields work by forming and launching the Rural and Small Community Brownfields Redevelopment Capacity Building Initiative. The Initiative's objectives are to:

• Promote and help expand the role of brownfields redevelopment within a rural or small community's overall economic strategy;
  
• Develop mechanisms that regional councils can use to solicit greater community involvement in brownfields assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment; and
  
• Provide training and information to local governmental representatives and other stakeholders.

These objectives are being accomplished through: training and presentations at numerous local, state, and regional workshops; presentations at NADO's annual national training conference, which typically attracts 700 rural and small metropolitan policy makers and practitioners; development of case studies or noteworthy best practice examples of brownfields redevelopment for inclusion in comprehensive economic development strategies; preparation of special reports and articles; maintenance of a web site; and increased collaboration with other national organizations.

CONTACTS

For further information, including specific grant contacts, additional grant information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields or call 202.566.2777.

For further information about the NADO Research Foundation's brownfields efforts, visit http://www.nado.org/ or contact Mike Bellamente, Program Manager, at 202.624.7809.

*The information on this fact sheet is subject to change.