Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: A Historic Investment in Brownfields
President Biden’s leadership and bipartisan Congressional action have delivered the single- largest investment in U.S. brownfields infrastructure ever. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests more than $1.5 billion through EPA’s highly successful Brownfields Program and funds over 350 programs to support planning, construction, and operation of a variety of public infrastructure projects. This investment in EPA’s Brownfields Program will transform countless lives and spur life-changing revitalization in communities large and small, urban and rural; all with the same desire to keep their neighborhoods healthy, sustainable and reflective of the people who call it home.
With EPA’s funding and direct technical assistance, overburdened communities can begin to address the economic, social and environmental challenges caused by brownfields and reposition these properties for investment and revitalization.
This federal infrastructure package funds 48 infrastructure programs that could be directly relevant and valuable for brownfield and community revitalization projects. Of these 48 programs, 10 are brand-new federal funding programs and 38 are existing programs that have been expanded by Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds. These programs total over $328 billion.
Brownfields-relevant Bipartisan Infrastructure Law programs include :
- a major increase in EPA brownfield grant funding;
- substantial funding for the remediation and repurposing of mine-scarred brownfields;
- billions in additional funding for water, wastewater, stormwater, and green infrastructure, including for emerging contaminants including PFAS pollution;
- new and expanded transportation infrastructure programs;
- expansive resources for broadband infrastructure investment;
- new funding for renewable energy, energy efficiency, and clean manufacturing deployments;
- expanded grants for pollution cleanup and resiliency projects in targeted coastal and waterfront areas;
- economic development funding for 33 states in targeted regions supported by the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Delta Regional Authority, the Denali Commission, the Northern Border Commission, and the Southwest Regional Commission.
Federal Infrastructure Investment Programs related to Brownfields