Brownfield Funding

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• Assessment Grants provide funding for brownfield inventories, planning, environmental assessments, and community outreach.  An applicant may request up to $300,000 to assess sites contaminated by hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants (including hazardous substances co-mingled with petroleum), and/or petroleum.  These grants are provided on a yearly basis. For more information click here. ​
   
• Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grants provide funding to capitalize loans that are used to clean up brownfield sites.  An eligible RLF Grant applicant may apply as an individual entity or as an RLF Coalition comprised of two or more entities. An RLF Grant applicant may apply for up to $1,000,000 to address brownfield sites contaminated by hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants (including hazardous substances co-mingled with petroleum), and/or petroleum. These grants are provided on a bi-yearly basis (every other year).  For more information click here. ​
   
• Cleanup Grants provide funding to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites owned by the applicant. An applicant may request up to $500,000 to address one brownfield site, or multiple brownfield sites, contaminated by hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants (including hazardous substances co-mingled with petroleum), and/or petroleum.  These grants are provided on a yearly basis. For more information click here.​ ​
   
• Multipurpose (MP) Grants provide funding to conduct a range of eligible assessment and cleanup activities at one or more brownfield sites in a target area.  An applicant can apply for up to $800,000 and should demonstrate how grant funds will result in at least:
• One Phase II environmental site assessment;
• One brownfield site cleanup
• An overall plan for the revitalization of one or more brownfield sites, if there is not already a plan in place.

These grants are provided on a bi-yearly basis (every other year). For more information click here.​

• Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training (EWDJT) Grants provide environmental training for residents impacted by brownfield sites in their communities.  An eligible applicant may apply for up to $200,000 per grant for eligible activities. These grants are provided on a yearly basis. For more information click here.​
   
• State and Tribal Response Program Grants.  Grant money is available to assist small communities, Indian tribes, rural areas, or disadvantaged areas to carryout section CERCLA 104(k)(7) (by providing training, research, and technical assistance to individuals and organizations, as appropriate, to facilitate the inventory of brownfields sites, site assessments, remediation of brownfield sites, community involvement, or site preparation).  These grants are provided on a yearly basis. For more information click here.​ 

United State Department of Agriculture (USDA)

• Rural Development Business Programs Funding is available for projects intended to help improve the quality of life in rural communities by enhancing economic opportunities and ensuring self-sustainability for generations to come. There are programs available for renewable energy, food supply chain, biodiesel, and various agriculture-related projects. For a listing of these programs, click here

• Rural Innovation Stronger Economy Grant Program The Rural Innovation Stronger Economy (RISE) Grant Program offers grant assistance to create and augment high-wage jobs, accelerate the formation of new businesses, support industry clusters and maximize the use of local productive assets in eligible low-income rural areas. For more information click here

• Rural Business Development Grants  This program is designed to provide technical assistance and training for small rural businesses. Small means that the business has fewer than 50 new workers and less than $1 million in gross revenue. For more information click here

• Business Industry Loan Guarantee  This program bolsters the availability of private credit by guaranteeing loans for rural businesses.​

  • 80% for loans of $5 million or less
  • 70% for loans between $5 and $10 million 
  • 60% for loans exceeding $10 million up to $25 million maximum. For more information click here

• Community Facilities Direct Loan & Grant Program This program provides affordable funding to develop essential community facilities in rural areas. An essential community facility is defined as a facility that provides an essential service to the local community for the orderly development of the community in a primarily rural area and does not include private, commercial or business undertakings.​ For more information click here

• Community Facilities Technical Assistance and Training Grant The Technical Assistance and/or training will assist communities, Indian Tribes, and Nonprofit Corporations to identify and plan for community facility needs that exist in their area.  Once those needs have been identified, the Grantee can assist in identifying public and private resources to finance those identified community facility needs.​ For more information click here

• Rural Community Development Initiative Grants (RCDI) RCDI grants are awarded to help non-profit housing and community development organizations, low-income rural communities and federally recognized tribes support housing, community facilities and community and economic development projects in rural areas.​ For more information click here

• Economic Impact Initiative Grants This program provides funding to assist in the development of essential community facilities (for example hospitals, medical clinics, childcare centers, town halls, museums) in rural communities with extreme unemployment and severe economic depression. 

• Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program This program provides loan guarantees up to $250 million to assist in the development, construction, and retrofitting of new and emerging technologies. These technologies are: advanced biofuels, renewable chemicals and biobased products. For more information click here 

• Rural Energy for America Program Renewable Energy Systems & Energy Efficiency Improvement Guaranteed Loans & Grants The program provides guaranteed loan financing and grant funding to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems or to make energy efficiency improvements. For more information click here

• Multifamily Housing Programs Multifamily Housing assists rural property owners through loans, loan guarantees, and grants that enable owners to develop and rehabilitate properties for low-income, elderly, and disabled individuals and families as well as domestic farm laborers. For a listing of these programs, click here

• Emergency Community Water Assistance Grants This program helps eligible communities prepare, or recover from, an emergency (chemical spill, pathogens, flooding, etc.) that threatens the availability of safe, reliable drinking water. For more information click here

United State Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

• HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes; utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination, and transform the way HUD does business. For more information click here

State Funding for Brownfield Grants

• Hazardous Discharge Site Remediation Fund (HDSRF) - Businesses operating in New Jersey, individuals, or municipalities that are required to, or volunteered to, perform remediation and/or cleanup of contaminated and underutilized sites may be eligible to secure financing through loans and/or grants under the Hazardous Discharge Site Remediation Fund. For more information click here. and here. 
  • Up to $1 million in loans to businesses and individuals per calendar year.*
  • Up to $2 million in grants and loans to municipalities.**
  • Up to 25% of the project cost, not to exceed $250,000, in matching grants to businesses or individuals.
  • Up to 50% of project cost, not to exceed $1,000,000 in innocent party grants to businesses or individuals. 

• NJEDA Brownfields Impact Fund - The Brownfields Impact Fund is a pilot program that will provide $800,000 in funding for loans to private developers, and loans and/or grants to public sector and non-profit entities to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites, assisting with the return of these vacant and underutilized properties to public benefit. Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Brownfields Impact Fund has been posted on the NJEDA website. The link to the online application for the Brownfields Impact Fund is available on the NJEDA webpage: https://www.njeda.com/brownfieldsimpactfund/

• NJEDA Brownfields Planning and Assessment Services - Free Phase I Environmental Site Assessments, Preliminary Assessments, Site Investigations and/or Remedial Investigations provided through NJEDA-selected contractor, funded through the USEPA. For more information click here

• NEW! NJ Asset Activation Planning Grant - This program will award grants of up to $50,000 to public, private, or non-profit entities, for early-stage planning and analysis that will demonstrate viability of projects that activate under-utilized public assets that benefit their communities and the regional economy. For more information click here 

• NEW! - NJEDA Brownfields Redevelopment Incentive Program - This program for the private sector offers 50-60% tax credits on remediation costs for redevelopment projects, up to $8 million. For more information click here.

• NJ Infrastructure Bank - Water Bank provides low interest rate loans to qualified borrowers in New Jersey for the purpose of financing Water quality projects.
  • Eligible entities include counties, regional authorities, municipalities, and water purveyors.
  • Available to private entities (redevelopers) via conduit loans. Done as part of redevelopment plan.
  • Typical Redevelopment project loan - 75% at AAA rate and 25% at 0% rate
  • Very Flexible

For more information - https://www.njib.gov/njeit 

• ​The New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust is another public funding source available for brownfield remediation and redevelopment. Brownfield remediation projects are eligible for loans at one-quarter or one-half of the market rate. The Environmental Infrastructure Trust does permit the developer to participate in the loan process. For more information click here.