Financing Water Quality Improvements at Brownfields Sites

Brownfields grantees may be able to leverage and align other EPA financial resources to address various water quality issues at Brownfields sites. Aligning resources allows EPA to better meet communities’ needs so they can more effectively reap the benefits of collaborative investments. For example:

• Communities can use EPA’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) as a powerful financial instrument, and augment resources currently available, to address the water quality aspects of Brownfields site assessment and cleanup. 
  • The Funding Brownfield Remediation with the Clean Water State Revolving Fund fact sheet demonstrates how the CWSRF provides this type of assistance to eligible recipients. 
  • The Clean Water State Revolving Fund: A Powerful Financial Tool to Support Brownfield and Superfund Assessment and Cleanup includes six case studies that provide examples of how communities have leveraged brownfields grant and loan funding and CWSRF financing to clean up contaminated sites.

• Water systems serving redeveloped Brownfield sites may, under certain conditions, use EPA’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) for the assessment and construction of drinking water infrastructure.

• EPA’s Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program may serve as a potential source of long-term, low-cost supplemental financing to fund project development and implementation activities.