Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Cooperative Agreements

66.818 Related Federal Assistance 66.817 , 66.815 , 66.814 Overview Objectives Brownfield sites are real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. The objectives of the Brownfield Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup cooperative agreements (project grants) are to provide funding to: (1) inventory, characterize, assess, and conduct planning and community involvement related to brownfield sites; (2) capitalize a revolving loan fund (RLF) which provide loans and subgrants to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites; (3) carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites that are owned by the grant recipient; and (4) inventory, characterize, assess, plan or remediate one or more brownfield sites in an area proposed for Multipurpose cooperative agreements. Funding Priorities - Fiscal Year 2026: Funding will support at least 39 Assessment cooperative agreements (estimated $58.7 million) that recipients may use to inventory, assess, engage the community, and plan reuse at brownfield sites, as authorized under CERCLA Section 104(k)(2). Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funds will be used for approximately 88 Assessment cooperative agreements (estimated $70 million). IIJA funds will support at least 36 direct Cleanup cooperative agreements (estimated $107 million) to enable eligible entities to clean up properties that the recipient owns, as authorized under CERCLA Section 104(k)(3). IIJA funds will support at least 20 Multipurpose cooperative agreements (estimated at $20 million) to assess and cleanup properties the recipient owns in a defined target area, as authorized under CERCLA Section (104)(k)(4). Funding will not be available for competitive RLF cooperative agreements, but approximately 25 RLF supplemental awards (estimated at $14 million) will be made non-competitively to current RLF cooperative agreement recipients who meet supplemental funding criteria, in order to re-capitalize their RLF for additional loans and subgrants. IIJA funds will be used for FY26 RLF supplemental funding awards. Consistent with the direction on cost sharing in IIJA, cost sharing and matching funds are not required for Cleanup cooperative agreements. Recipients will be required to report site-specific accomplishments for IIJA-funded activities in the Assessment, Cleanup and Redevelopment, Exchange System (ACRES) and collected data will be used to demonstrate successful implementation of the program. Certain projects (i.e., primarily cleanup projects) are subject to the Buy America Sourcing requirements under the Build America, Buy America (BABA) provisions IIJA (P.L. 117-58, §§ 70911-70917) when using funds for the purchase of goods, products, and materials on any form of construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of infrastructure in the United States. The Buy America preference requirement applies to all of the iron and steel, manufactured products, and construction materials used for an infrastructure project under an award identified in EPA’s financial assistance funding programs subject to BABA report.