Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Program

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Brownfields Area-Wide Planning is an EPA grant program which provides funding to recipients to conduct research, technical assistance and training that will result in an area-wide plan and implementation strategy for key brownfield sites, which will help inform the assessment, cleanup and reuse of brownfields properties and promote area-wide revitalization. Funding is directed to specific areas, such as a neighborhood, downtown district, local commercial corridor, or city block, affected by a single large or multiple brownfield sites.

Brownfields Area-Wide Planning (BF AWP) Program Fact Sheet

Brownfields Area-Wide Planning projects are part of the HUD-DOT-EPA Partnership for Sustainable Communities (http://www.sustainablecommunities.gov/index.html).

This Partnership is focused on helping communities nationwide improve access to affordable housing, more transportation options, and lower transportation costs while protecting the environment. Through a set of guiding livability principles and a partnership agreement that will guide the agencies' efforts, this partnership will coordinate federal housing, transportation, and other infrastructure investments to protect the environment, promote equitable development, and help to address the challenges of climate change.

Partnership information on Key Resources, including Economic Development and Brownfields Redevelopment: http://www.sustainablecommunities.gov/toolsKeyResources.html.

20 communities selected for FY13 Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Grants
EPA has selected 20 communities across the nation to be awarded approximately $4 million in total -grant funding. These communities will use the funds to develop area-wide plans and specific implementation strategies for integrating the cleanup and reuse of brownfield sites into neighborhood revitalization efforts. Communities were selected in part using language developed under the HUD-DOT-EPA Partnership for Sustainable Communities which helps the three agencies to align their investments. The projects were selected using criteria which, among other things, demonstrates the applicant's ability to advance livability principles, support local and regional planning efforts, and engage community members throughout the project.

EPA News Release April 25, 2013
Search here for BF AWP Awardee Fact Sheets
List of 2013 BF AWP Awardees (PDF) (1 pp., 20K)
2013 BF AWP Project Summaries (PDF) (5 pp., 104K)

FY2013 Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Grant Guidelines – Request for Proposals
These grants may be used by communities to facilitate community involvement in developing an area-wide plan for brownfields assessment, cleanup and subsequent reuse on a catalyst site and other high-priority brownfield sites. Each grant is funded up to $200,000 for two years. The proposal submission deadline is November 30, 2012.

FY2013 Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Grant Guidelines (PDF) (55 pp, 448K)
Frequently Asked Questions (PDF) (24 pp, 255K)
AWP Guidelines Review Webinar Slides
AWP Guidelines Review Webinar Partial Audio (partial audio - started 15 minutes into presentation)

23 Communities selected for 2010-2012 Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Pilot Program

EPA is providing assistance to 23 communities to facilitate community involvement in developing an area-wide plan for brownfields assessment, cleanup and subsequent reuse. The pilot program recipients each received up to approximately $175,000 in grant funding and/or direct technical assistance from the Agency. Please click here for the list of pilot project award recipients (1 pg, 75K) by state.

EPA is piloting this area-wide planning approach to community brownfield challenges, which recognizes that revitalization of the area surrounding the brownfield site(s) is critical to the successful reuse of the property as assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment of an individual site. The area-wide planning approach will enhance EPA's core brownfields assistance programs by encouraging continued meaningful involvement in a locally-driven planning process that will result in a strategy for making brownfields site assessment, cleanup and/or redevelopment decisions for the future. The pilot program will help further community-based partnership efforts within underserved or economically disadvantaged neighborhoods by confronting local environmental and public health challenges related to brownfields, while creating a planning framework to advance economic development and job creation.

Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Federal Coordination Webinars (http://www.clu-in.org/live/archive/) These webinars highlight programs from Federal agencies that can help communities implement their community revitalization and redevelopment projects. The sessions were designed to enable brownfields communities to become more familiar with how Federal agencies operate locally and how their resources may be accessed/used.

Link to CLU-IN webinar archives: http://www.clu-in.org/live/archive/. The 5 webinars that are archived are:

March 7, 2011: Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Webinar 1 (overview presentation of Federal resources)
April 27, 2011: Area-Wide Planning Coordination Opportunities (presentation on DOT/ FTA & FHWA programs and resources)
May 5, 2011: Area-Wide Planning Coordination Opportunities: Economic Development Administration and US Dept of Agriculture
June 29, 2011: Area-Wide Planning: Coordination Opportunities with HUD
February 8, 2012: Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Federal Resources - 2012 Update

Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Pilot Project Fact Sheets and Project Websites