[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 57 (Monday, March 24, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15522-15523]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-5880]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8545-7]


Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability 
Act (CERCLA) or Superfund, Brownfields Amendments, Section 104(k); 
Notice of Revisions to FY2009 Guidelines for Brownfields Assessment, 
Cleanup and Revolving Loan Fund Grants

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Section 104(k)(5)(A)(iii) of the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) requires the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to publish guidance to assist 
applicants in preparing proposals for grants to assess and clean up 
brownfield sites. EPA's Brownfields Program provides funds to empower 
states, communities, tribes and nonprofits to prevent, inventory, 
assess, clean up and reuse brownfield sites. In FY2009 EPA has revised 
the Brownfields Grant Proposal Guidelines (guidelines) and is 
soliciting comments on those revisions. EPA provides brownfields 
funding for three types of grants: assessment, revolving loan fund and 
cleanup. The major changes to the guidelines include: three separate 
booklets for each of the grant types; Assessment Coalitions which allow 
eligible entities of 3 or more to request up to $1 M dollars for 
hazardous substance or petroleum (or combined) community-wide 
assessments; ranking criteria based on a total score of 100; Community 
Notification is a threshold criterion; ranking criteria is four 
sections: Community Need, Project Feasibility, Community Engagement and 
Project Benefits; community based organization letters of support are 
required; and a Phase II report complete at time of application for a 
cleanup grant is required.

DATES: Publication of this notice will start a ten working day comment 
period on revisions to the FY2009 Brownfields Grant Guidelines. 
Comments will be accepted through April 7, 2008. EPA expects to release 
a Request for Proposals based on these revised guidelines in late 
summer of 2008.

ADDRESSES: The draft guidelines can be downloaded at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/. If you do not have internet access and 
require hard copies of the draft guidelines please contact Megan Quinn 
at (202) 566-2773. Please send

[[Page 15523]]

any comments to Megan Quinn at [email protected] no later than April 
7, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The U.S. EPA's Office of Solid Waste 
and Emergency Response, Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization, 
(202) 566-2777.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Comments will be accepted through April 7, 
2008. Please note that in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2) EPA is not 
undertaking notice and comment rulemaking and has not established a 
docket to receive public comments on the guidelines. Rather, the Agency 
as a matter of policy is soliciting the views of interested parties on 
proposed changes to the guidelines in an effort to make the guidelines 
as responsive as possible to the needs of the public. Please note that 
these draft guidelines are subject to change. Organizations interested 
in applying for Brownfields funding must follow the instructions 
contained in the final guidelines that EPA publishes on grants.gov, 
rather than these draft guidelines.
    There are three types of grants applicants may apply for under 
these guidelines:
    1. Brownfields Assessment Grants--provide funds to inventory, 
characterize, assess, and conduct cleanup and redevelopment planning 
and community involvement related to brownfield sites.
    2. Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund Grants--provide funding for a 
grant recipient to capitalize a revolving loan fund and to provide 
subgrants to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites.
    3. Brownfields Cleanup Grants--provide funds to carry out cleanup 
activities at a specific brownfield site owned by the applicant.

The Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance entry for Brownfields 
Grants is 66.818.

    Dated: March 12, 2008.
David R. Lloyd,
Director, Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization, Office of 
Solid Waste and Emergency Response.
[FR Doc. E8-5880 Filed 3-21-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P