The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has extended the due date for submission of the Assessment Revolving Loan Fund and Cleanup (ARC) Grant Request for Proposal by two weeks, from Nov. 19, 2012 to Dec. 3, 2012 due to significant disruption caused by Hurricane Sandy.

Information regarding this change is available at www.epa.gov/brownfields and www.grants.gov.

The Brownfields ARC grant funds can be used to address sites contaminated by petroleum and hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants, including hazardous substances co-mingled with petroleum.

Available grants from EPA’s Brownfields program include assessment grants (each funded up to $200,000 over three years; coalitions are funded up to $ 600,000 over three years); cleanup grants (each funded up to $200,000 over three years); and revolving loan funds (each funded up to $1 million over five years).

WHO SHOULD APPLY?  Individuals from eligible local, state, and tribal governments; non-profits; coalitions; land clearance authorities; and quasi-governmental entities interested in a brownfields assessment, cleanup, or revolving loan fund grant.

WHY APPLY?  EPA’s Brownfields program encourages the redevelopment of America’s estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated waste sites.  Brownfields sites include all real property, including residential, commercial and industrial properties.  Cleaning up and reinvesting in these properties increases local tax bases, facilitates job growth, utilizes existing infrastructure, takes development pressures off undeveloped, open land, and improves and protects the environment.  Brownfields redevelopments have included the conversion of industrial waterfronts to riverfront parks, landfills to golf courses, rail corridors to recreational trails, and gas stations to housing.

During fiscal year 2012, EPA’s national investment in the Brownfields program has leveraged 1.1 billion in brownfields cleanup and redevelopment funding from the private and public sectors, and has created approximately 5,500 new jobs.

For more information on the EPA Brownfields grant application guidelines go to:  http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/news/index.htm