The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), signed into law on November 15, 2021, includes a significantly higher amount of new funding available for US brownfields infrastructure.
The IIJA invests more than $1.5 billion through USEPA’s Brownfields Program and funds over 350 programs to support the planning, construction, and operation of a variety of public infrastructure projects. This is a significant increase over the $200 million authorized by the 2018 BUILD Act. Furthermore, these funds will not be subject to the 20-percent matching fund requirement.
The $1.5 billion allocation is broken down into $1.2 billion for Brownfield Competitive Grants and $300 million for Brownfield Categorical Grants. While there is now more money allocated (with higher dollar amounts available and reduced cost sharing requirements), the beneficiaries are still the same: communities, states, tribes, and nonprofits. In the past, less than half of the grant proposals submitted for brownfields funding were approved. With this Act, however, the number of approvals is expected to significantly increase going forward.
The EPA provides guidance, as well as funding, for grant preparation technical support to grant seekers. However, if you’d like to learn more about the Brownfields Program and how your company can benefit from it, contact EHS Support Senior Hydrogeologist and Remediation Group Growth Manager Tom Silverman for more information.
