Brownfields Grants & Funding Assistance
What is a Brownfields Grant?
Brownfields grants are public funding programs designed to assist communities, property owners, developers, and economic development organizations in assessing, cleaning up, and redeveloping properties with known or suspected environmental contamination. These programs help reduce environmental uncertainty, facilitate investment, and return underutilized properties to productive use.
AMO Environmental Decisions has extensive experience assisting municipalities, economic development organizations, developers, and property owners with environmental assessment, remediation, and redevelopment projects funded through federal and state brownfields programs. Our team has secured and/or managed more than $27 million in brownfields assessment and cleanup grant funding, helping clients transform environmentally challenged properties into productive community assets while reducing redevelopment risk and costs.
EPA Brownfields Grants
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfields Program provides funding to municipalities, counties, economic development organizations, and other eligible entities to support:
- Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs)
- Phase II Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs)
- Site characterization and contaminant delineation
- Cleanup planning and remedial design
- Community engagement and outreach
- Brownfields inventories and site prioritization
- Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) cleanup financing
AMO assists grant recipients with program implementation, site inventory development, community outreach, environmental assessments, reporting, and regulatory coordination.
Pennsylvania Brownfields Funding Programs
Pennsylvania offers several funding opportunities to support environmental cleanup and redevelopment projects.
Industrial Sites Reuse Program (ISRP)
The Industrial Sites Reuse Program provides grants and low-interest loans to assist with:
- Environmental assessments
- Remedial investigations
- Cleanup planning
- Environmental Remediation
ISRP funding is often used to bridge the gap between environmental liability and redevelopment opportunities, helping move challenging sites toward productive reuse.
Additional State and Local Funding Sources
Additional funding opportunities may be available through:
- Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED)
- Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP)
- County redevelopment authorities
- Economic development organizations
- Local grant and incentive programs
Funding availability varies based on project location, redevelopment goals, community benefits, and site conditions.
How AMO Can Help
Our team provides comprehensive support throughout the funding and redevelopment process, including:
- Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs)
- Phase II Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs)
- Site characterization and contaminant delineation
- Cleanup planning and remedial design
- Community engagement and outreach
- Brownfields inventories and site prioritization
- Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) cleanup financing
- Environmental Remediation
Frequently Asked Funding Questions
Can private property owners receive Brownfields funding?
In many cases, yes. While grants are often awarded to municipalities and economic development organizations, those entities can frequently use grant funding to conduct environmental assessments on privately owned properties, provided the site meets program eligibility requirements.
Is there a cost to the property owner?
For many EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant projects, environmental assessment activities may be completed at no cost to the property owner. Eligibility requirements vary by program and location.
Does accepting Brownfields funding require me to clean up my property?
No. Environmental assessment funding helps identify environmental conditions and liabilities. Property owners are generally not obligated to perform remediation solely because assessment activities were conducted.
What are the benefits of participating in a Brownfields program?
Participation can:
- Reduce environmental uncertainty
- Support property sales and refinancing
- Facilitate redevelopment
- Improve access to funding
- Identify environmental liabilities before development
- Increase property marketability
- Help attract developers and investors
Let's Discuss Your Site
Whether you are a property owner, developer, municipality, lender, or economic development organization, AMO Environmental Decisions can help identify funding opportunities and develop a strategy to move your project forward. Our experience implementing federal and state brownfields programs allows us to guide clients from initial assessment through redevelopment and regulatory closure.