Recent Additions

The following items were recently added to the Region 4 Land Revitalization and Reuse web site. Short summaries and links to information on the following items can be found below.

Sustainable Skylines Initiative Request for Applications (Due 12/17/08)
This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits applications from eligible entities to compete for financial assistance through the Sustainable Skylines Initiative (SSI). The SSI provides a framework to integrate transportation, energy, land use and air quality planning programs into projects that yield measurable air quality benefits in a relatively short period of time. SSI works with eligible entities to aid their communities to develop locally-led activities to help reduce emissions and promote sustainability with the goal of cleaner and healthier air. This is performed by participants working with EPA and other partners to increase community participation and leverage resources. The long-term goal of SSI is to help communities build self-sustaining, community-based partnerships that will continue to achieve positive environmental impacts, livability, and economic development benefits for many generations to come.

Eligible Applicants:
- State governments
- County governments
- City or township governments
- Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
- Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
- Private institutions of higher education
- Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

More information can be found at: Grants.gov, Sustainable Skylines Initiative (http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do;!981567453?oppId=43229&flag2006=false&mode=VIEW"). Please note that the closing date is December 17, 2008.
FY09 Proposal Guidelines for Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund and Cleanup Grants
The FY09 Proposal Guidelines for Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Grants have been posted to the brownfields website at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/applicat.htm. The proposal deadline is November 14, 2008.
These grants may be used to address sites contaminated by petroleum and hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants (including hazardous substances co-mingled with petroleum).

Opportunities for funding are as follows (See Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 66.818):

Brownfields Assessment Grants: (each funded up to $200,000 over three years; $1,000,000 for Assessment Coalitions) provide funding to inventory, characterize, assess, and conduct planning and community involvement related to brownfield sites;

Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grants: (each funded up to $1,000,000 over five years) provide funding to capitalize a revolving fund and to make loans and provide subgrants to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites;

Brownfields Cleanup Grants: (each funded up to $200,000 over three years) provide funding for a grant recipient to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites that are owned by the grant recipient.
Please note there have been significant changes to the Proposal Guidelines for Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Grants. EPA encourages applicants to read the guidelines carefully before applying.

Organizations Receive $1.5 Million for Brownfields Training, Research, and Technical Assistance
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is awarding 10 grants for brownfields training, research, and technical assistance projects with national scope and impact. More than $1.5million in funding will support brownfields assessment, cleanup, and revitalization across the country.
The grants will fund projects that are exploring new and innovative ideas in the areas of protection of human health and the environment, sustainable development, and equitable development. Each assistance project will receive between $100,000 and $150,000 in annual funding for up to five years. Project examples include:
- Research to advance the science of characterizing arsenic at mine-scarred land sites.
- Advancing the sustainability of local gardening and farming initiatives on brownfields.
- Identifying mine-scarred or contaminated lands that could be used for renewable energy production.
- Supporting green jobs through technical assistance to communities establishing brownfields job training programs.
Brownfields are sites where expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. In January 2002, President Bush signed the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act, which increased funding, expanded authority, and provided liability protection to help communities revitalize brownfields. EPA provides grants, technical assistance and training to support local brownfields efforts. For more information on the brownfields grants, go to www.epa.gov/brownfields/trta.htm#app or contact Latisha Petteway (petteway.latisha@epa.gov) at (202) 564-4355.

Kansas State University Provides TAB EZ Software for Assessment and Cleanup Grants
Kansas State University (KSU),under the Technical Assistance to Brownfield Communities (TAB) cooperative agreement #TR83389401 with EPA, has developed a software tool called "TAB EZ". TAB EZ can assist communities that are applying for assessment and cleanup grants under EPA's Fiscal Year 2009 Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund and Cleanup (ARC) grant competition. TAB EZ was developed by KSU and CABEM Technologies, Inc. as a public service. TAB EZ is available free of cost to everyone nationwide. More information about TAB EZ is available at http://www.tabez.org/.

EPA's New Ecological Restoration Tool is Online!
This web site is a resource for project managers and others seeking information and guidance on ecological restoration and land revitalization. The page includes a glossary of restoration terms and a set of principles for ecological restoration; as well as information and links to resources on soil health and amendments, native and invasive plant species, and ecosystem-based restoration. Also featured is a comprehensive list of region-by-region and state-by-state federal and local resources for ecological restoration projects, including the Federal Highway Administration's publication, "Roadside Use of Native Plants." The website address is: http://www.cluin.org/products/ecorestoration/

Report: State Brownfield Insurance Programs, 2006
Researchers from Northern Kentucky University issued a report on State-level Brownfields Insurance Programs. The report provides information that will help state officials and other brownfields stakeholders to assess the value of state-assisted brownfields insurance. The report is available on the EPA Brownfields Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/pubs/state_report_2006.pdf. Information on US EPA's Brownfields Program is available at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/.

Region 4 Prospective Purchaser Inquiry (PPI) Service
Region 4’s PPI service offers one-stop shopping for information that will allow a prospective purchaser to make a timely business decision on whether to purchase a site or not. More information… (4 pp, 182 K, about PDF)

Superfund Site Reuse Fact Sheets
Region 4 has developed a number of fact sheets about some Superfund sites in the Region. These fact sheets describe when and how a site is (or will be) ready for reuse and have been designed be useful documents for site owners, future site users, prospective purchasers, lenders, and developers. More information...

Recent Additions

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