Eligible Planning Activities

• Information on Eligible Planning Activities
• Planning Success Stories
• Planning Activities Q&A

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Information on Eligible Planning Activities

Planning Activities Eligible Under an EPA Brownfield Assessment or Multipurpose Grant

Revitalizing a brownfield starts with understanding how the community’s site reuse goals align with local economic, infrastructure, social and environmental conditions. Specific planning activities will help your community determine which reuses are feasible for the site. Site reuse planning is essential because the reuse influences how the site will be assessed, remediated, and maintained safely post-cleanup.

Good news! Planning activities that focus on brownfields reuse are eligible under an EPA Brownfields Assessment or Multipurpose Grant. Below are 15 fact sheets that explain eligible site planning activities to initiate brownfields revitalization and prepare a site for reuse.

Planning Activities to Initiate Brownfields Revitalization

• Equitable Development Activities (pdf) (1009.98 KB, February 2025)
• Brownfields Area-Wide Planning (pdf) (401.11 KB)
• Site Reuse Assessment (pdf) (1.85 MB)
• Land Use Assessment (pdf) (308.22 KB)
• Market Study (pdf) (590.29 KB)
• Infrastructure Evaluation (pdf) (288.96 KB)
• Community Health Assessment (pdf) (278.78 KB)
• Site Disposition Strategy (pdf) (806.82 KB)

Planning Activities to Prepare Your Brownfields Site for Reuse

• Site Reuse Vision (pdf) (309.06 KB)
• Resource Roadmap (pdf) (418.75 KB)
• Revitalization Plan (pdf) (283.86 KB)
• Evaluation of Market Viability (pdf) (409.29 KB)
• Economic Impact Analysis (pdf) (1002.76 KB)
• Fiscal Impact Analysis (pdf) (739.23 KB)

Note: EPA grant recipients must comply with requirements for procurement contracts when using EPA funds to hire planners, architects, landscape architects, engineers and other vendors of commercial services; detailed guidance is available in EPA’s Best Practice Guide for Procuring Services, Supplies, and Equipment Under EPA Assistance Agreements. Subawards to nonprofit or governmental partners must comply with requirements in EPA’s Subaward Policy.

Planning Success Stories

On August 28, 2024, EPA held a webinar highlighting two grant recipients, the City of Indianapolis and Cochise County, who used EPA Brownfields Grant funds to plan under a Multipurpose and an Assessment Coalition Grant. The webinar explored why planning should be incorporated into the brownfield redevelopment process and at what point in the process planning is most valuable to a community looking to revitalize their brownfield sites. The webinar recording and presentation are linked below.

• Planning Under an EPA Brownfields Grant Webinar Recording (mp3)
• Panning Under an EPA Brownfields Grant Webinar Slides (pdf) (10.89 MB, August 28, 2024)
  EPA webinar highlighting two grant recipients, the City of Indianapolis and Cochise County, who used EPA Brownfields Grant funds to plan under a Multipurpose and an Assessment Coalition Grant. The webinar explored why planning should be incorporated into the brownfield redevelopment process and at what point in the process planning is most valuable to a community looking to revitalize their brownfield sites.

Planning Activities Q&A

How do planning activities lead to brownfields reuse?

Planning activities play an important role in helping a community determine how to safely address and reuse a brownfield site in a manner that meets the goals of the local community and is feasible given local economic and environmental conditions. Site reuse planning is essential because the reuse influences assessment, remediation, and safe maintenance post-cleanup.

When can my community use an EPA Brownfields Grant for planning activities?

CERCLA § 104(k) provides authority for communities to use EPA grants to support brownfields planning activities:

• Under CERCLA § 104(k)(2)(A)(i) (Assessment Grants): "... for programs to inventory, characterize, assess, and conduct planning related to brownfield sites..."
• Under CERCLA § 104(k)(4)(A) (Multipurpose Grants): "... to carry out inventory, characterization, assessment, planning, or remediation activities at one or more brownfield sites in an area..."

CERLCA § 128(a) provides authority for eligible states and Tribal Nations to use EPA Technical Assistance Grants (TAG) for brownfields planning activities to benefit small, rural, or underserved communities.

What brownfields planning activities are eligible under a Brownfields Assessment or Multipurpose Grant?

See specific planning activities above.

Planning activities must be related to a brownfield site or an area with one or more brownfields sites. Additionally, brownfields-funded activities must be related to advancing the assessment, cleanup, and reuse of brownfields within the project area.

It is important to consider any off-site factors in the area and around the property that could affect the safe reuse of the site. When necessary, planning and other research activities may extend beyond the brownfield property to identify practical, feasible, and safe site reuse options. Examples of off-site factors that can affect safe reuse include:

• Nearby contamination (e.g., an offsite plume that could migrate into the area)
• Compatibility of and connectivity to existing and planned nearby land uses and infrastructure
• Relevant real estate and job market conditions
• Community health issues
• Proximity to natural resources

Note that if a property does not meet the definition of a brownfield, this property may only be included in the EPA brownfields-funded planning and research as incidental to the eligible brownfield site. The eligible brownfield site(s) must be the focus of the brownfields-funded support.

Which planning activities are ineligible?

Brownfields Grant funds cannot pay for:

• General planning activities such as the development of city or region-wide plans;
• Site or area master planning unrelated to brownfields;
• General land-use ordinances;
• Marketing activities designed to help sell or transfer the brownfield(s) or other properties;
• Survey design, development, or collection; or
• Fundraising.

Is EPA able to conduct brownfields planning activities under the Targeted Brownfields Assessment (TBA) program?

No. TBAs are not a grant. The authority for conducting TBAs includes a narrower list of eligible activities than what is eligible for Assessment and Multipurpose Grants. TBA eligible activities include:

• An "All Appropriate Inquiries" environmental site assessment (Phase I), including a historical investigation and a preliminary site inspection;
• A more in-depth environmental site assessment (Phase II), including sampling activities to identify the types and concentrations of contaminants and the areas to be cleaned;
• Determining how much more investigation is needed and/or the establishment of cleanup options and cost estimates based on future uses and redevelopment plans;
• Developing an Analysis of Brownfields Cleanup Alternatives (ABCA) for a site that was addressed under the TBA program

My community needs brownfields planning assistance; who can I contact for help?

Brownfields technical assistance grant recipients and EPA contractors may provide communities with planning activities if they support the assessment, cleanup, and safe reuse of a brownfield site. EPA's Brownfields Technical Assistance Providers are available to provide training, research, and technical assistance to organizations to facilitate the inventory of brownfield sites, site assessments, remediation of brownfield sites, community involvement, or site preparation. Reach out to your TAB provider or your Regional EPA Brownfields Program to learn more about technical assistance.