The Brownfields and Land Revitalization Technology Support Center
Provided by the U.S. EPA, Argonne National Laboratory, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Removal Emergency Response Program
EPA is announcoing the availability of funds and solicits proposals to provide the necessary framework for the participation of individual state and territorial programs in research activities with the mission of advocating for and supporting state removal action and emergency response programs, to enhance these programs' capabilities to perform time critical and non-time critical removal actions and emergency response activities that address immediate risks to human health and the environment resulting from the release or potential release of hazardous substances. The goal of this cooperative agreement is to promote research of hazardous substance detection, assessment and evaluation of the effects on and risks to human health and the environment as related to state and territorial removal and environmental emergency response programs. The closing date for this opportunity is April 1, 2013.

FY13 Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grant Guidelines
EPA is announcing the availability of funds and solicits proposals from eligible entities, including non-profit organizations, to deliver environmental workforce development and job training programs that recruit, train, and place local, unemployed and under-employed residents with the skills needed to secure full-time employment in the environmental field, with a focus on solid and hazardous waste remediation, environmental health and safety, and wastewater-related training. Under this competition, applicants may choose to serve dislocated workers, or those laid off as a result of recent manufacturing plant closures, as well as those severely under-employed or unemployed in the target community. The closing date for this opportunity is April 9, 2013.

Technical Assistance to Brownfields Communities - New TAB Grants Announced
The EPA recently selected a new round of TAB grantees. Building on their previous experience working with communities, and their extensive team of subgrantees, contractors, partners and other network contacts, three new TAB grantees, the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Kansas State University (KSU), and the Center for Creative Land Recycling (CCLR), will help communities tackle the challenge of assessing, cleaning up and preparing brownfields sites for redevelopment, especially underserved, rural, small, and otherwise distressed communities. Technical assistance being provided through these grants will help communities across the country move brownfields sites forward in the process toward cleanup and reuse.

Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grants
EPA is announcing $3 million to be awarded to 15 grantees through the Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training (EWDJT) program. The grants will recruit, train, and place unemployed individuals in jobs that will help resolve environmental challenges in their communities. These investments will protect people’s health and the environment and target underserved and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods where environmental cleanups and jobs are most needed. As of June 2012, approximately 10,300 individuals had completed training and approximately 7,300 obtained employment in the environmental field, with an average starting hourly wage of $14.12. The development of this green workforce will allow the trainees to develop skills that will make them competitive in the redevelopment and environmental fields.

Multi-Purpose Pilot Grants
EPA is announcing $3.8 million in grants to both assess and clean up contaminated sites and revitalize communities through a new Multi-Purpose Grant approach. Nine recipients were selected across the country. These pilots will help each of the nine recipients overcome obstacles with conducting assessments and cleanup activities, and help to eliminate the delay that can occur when moving from assessment to cleanup when funding has not been secured. The investments represent a broad range of distressed communities and redevelopment opportunities. The revitalization of these brownfields sites will reduce threats to human health and the environment, promote community involvement, and attract investment in local neighborhoods.

Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund (RLF), Cleanup Grants, & Supplemental Funding for RLF Grants
EPA is announcing $69.3 million in new Brownfields grants to provide communities with funding necessary to assess, clean and redevelop contaminated properties, boost local economies and create jobs while protecting public health. The 245 grantees include tribes and communities in 39 states across the country, funded by EPA’s Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (ARC) grants and RLF Supplemental Grants. Since the Program’s inception, EPA’s Brownfields investments have leveraged more than $18.3 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funding from a variety of public and private sources and have resulted in approximately 75,500 jobs. EPA has awarded 2,008 Assessment grants totaling $480.1 million, 292 Revolving Loan Fund grants totaling $286.1 million, and 838 Cleanup grants totaling $157.6 million.

Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grants
Twenty-one communities in 20 states were selected to receive more than $6.2 million in Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training (EWDJT) grants to recruit, train, and place, local, unemployed, predominantly low-income and minority, residents in environmentally-impacted communities. The Agency's EWDJT Program, formerly referred to as the "Brownfields Job Training Grant Program," helps provide unemployed and under-employed individuals with the necessary skills to secure full-time, sustainable employment in the environmental field. The 21 communities will receive up to $300,000 each to train individuals in the cleanup of contaminated sites and in health and safety, while also providing training in other environmental skills, such as recycling center operator training, green building design, energy efficiency, weatherization, solar installation, construction and demolition debris recycling, emergency response, and native plant revegetation.

Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund (RLF), Cleanup Grants & Supplemental Funding for RLF grants
Communities in 40 states and 3 Tribes will share $76 million in EPA Brownfields grants to help clean up, revitalize, and sustainably reuse contaminated properties, turning them from problem properties to productive community use. The grants, awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will provide funding to eligible entities through brownfields assessment, revolving loan fund, and cleanup grants. Since the beginning of the Brownfields Program, EPA has awarded 1,895 assessment grants totaling $447.6 million, 279 revolving loan fund grants totaling $273.1 million and752cleanup grants totaling $140.8 million.

Upcoming related events include the following:

Brownfields 2013 Conference - May 15-17, 2013, Atlanta, Georgia
The 15th National Brownfields Conference is headed to Atlanta, Georgia on May 15–17, 2013. The Conference, cosponsored by U.S. EPA, is the largest and most comprehensive event in the nation that focuses on issues important to community revitalization and the assessment, cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated properties. Brownfields 2013 will offer a diverse set of educational opportunities including, but not limited to, panel sessions, marketplace roundtables, mobile workshops, film screenings, plenary events, an exhibit hall and a redevelopment forum.

24th National Tanks Conference and Expo - September 16-18, 2013, Denver, Colorado
The National Tanks Conference & Expo agenda features sessions covering a wide range of underground storage tank topics. In addition to the educational sessions, ample opportunities for informal networking will be provided, allowing you to share knowledge and experiences with fellow attendees.

ICMA Annual Conference - September 22-25, 2013, Boston, Massachusetts
Each year, through its highly praised Annual Conference, ICMA offers an abundance of educational, information-sharing, and networking tools to help you manage your community in today's complex environment. Especially in challenging times, the tools, tips, information, and resources you pick up at the conference - in addition to the opportunities for professional and personal renewal and networking - are more important than ever.