Partnership to Support Brownfield Redevelopment

New life could be breathed into abandoned or blighted properties in your community thanks to an innovative partnership and public outreach effort. The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet (EEC) has partnered with the University of Kentucky Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky (CEDIK) to conduct a concerted informational campaign around funding opportunities and help local communities redevelop brownfield sites.

Brownfields are abandoned, unused, or underused properties where redevelopment is hindered due to known or suspected contamination. Although often considered problem properties, brownfields can be redeveloped and turned into opportunities to clean up the environment, boost the local economy, and build a stronger community.

UK’s CEDIK has extensive experience working with groups to foster community and economic development and providing grant education. “This was the perfect marriage,” said Eric Eisiminger, EEC’s Brownfield Program coordinator. “Our knowledge of brownfield redevelopment and their expertise in economic development and grant education should prove to be a great team.”

The goal is to provide basic fundamentals of brownfield redevelopment and grant writing guidance in the hopes of encouraging local communities that have not historically taken advantage of the Brownfield Program. Guidance can be provided through the phase I and phase II site assessment process.

“Most downtown revitalization projects will typically include brownfield redevelopment of some sort,” Eisiminger said. “So this will be a win-win for both agencies.”

Shane Barton, downtown revitalization coordinator for CEDIK agreed, “We believe our downtown revitalization work in Kentucky communities will be much more effective because of this collaboration.  Nearly every downtown has at least one building that is stuck in the redevelopment process and this partnership allows our organizations to bring the right resources to bear in underserved communities that have long requested this type of collaborative approach.”

CEDIK’s five-year, $257,000 per year contract is funded through the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Scheduling of outreach events should begin in early spring and will be posted on both organization’s websites and social media outlets.

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Gov. Beshear Announces $1.4 Million in EPA Awards to Three Kentucky Communities for Potential Brownfields Sites

FRANKFORT, Ky. (May 18, 2022) – Governor Andy Beshear and Energy and Environment Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Goodman today announced that three Kentucky communities have been selected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to receive over $1.4 million in grant funding to assess “brownfields” – industrial and commercial properties that are known or suspected to contain a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant.

Those receiving funding are:

• City of Elizabethtown – $400,300

Community-wide Assessment grant funds will be used to inventory, prioritize and/or conduct environmental assessments of 22 sites, support community outreach activities and develop up to 10 cleanup plans. The city will target the East Dixie Avenue Corridor, where many commercial and industrial buildings are now unoccupied or underutilized. Priority sites include a 5.75-acre former automotive dealership, a former motel, a dilapidated 4-acre retail strip, and a former liquor store and office complex.

• City of Paducah – $500,000

Community-wide Assessment grant funds will be used to inventory, prioritize and/or conduct environmental assessments of 19 sites, develop nine cleanup plans and support community outreach activities. The city will target the city’s riverfront, gateway and southside corridors. Priority sites include an 81,000-square-foot historic event space and music hall that is vacant and in disrepair, a 1.4-acre property with numerous vacant commercial service businesses, a 3.3-acre vacant and dilapidated hospital building, a former movie theater, an abandoned gas station, and a 2.8-acre abandoned and deteriorating warehouse.

• Cumberland Valley Area Development District – $500,000

Community-wide Assessment grant funds will be used to inventory, prioritize and/or conduct environmental assessments of 19 sites, develop nine cleanup plans and three resource roadmaps, and support community outreach activities. The target areas for this grant are the cities of Cumberland, Benham, and Lynch, all of which have been severely impacted by the closure of coal mines in the area. Priority sites include a former power company, an unused section of rail line, an unused 8,500-square-foot building that once housed a medical clinic, a 61-year-old former gas station, and a 25,000-square-foot building that was formerly a high school.

“This funding will help these Kentucky communities take a great step towards turning vacant or abandoned property into sites that will bring jobs and take advantage of the emerging industries locating in the state,” said Governor Andy Beshear. “Making investments in the health of our infrastructure and our citizens is the best way to ensure that all of us thrive today and into the future.”

“These EPA grants will make it possible for these Kentucky communities to reimagine and eventually reuse their blighted properties,” said Energy and Environment Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Goodman. “This is essential not only for the environment but also for the health and vitality of these communities.”

EPA’s Brownfield Program has provided over $1.7 billion in grants nationwide since the program’s inception in 1995. Over the next five years, brownfields redevelopment programs nationwide will take on new opportunities to invest in infrastructure due to the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“Infrastructure Law”). Because of the new Infrastructure Law, EPA’s Brownfields grants for FY 2023 have increased to:

• $10 million for Brownfields Multipurpose Grants
• $10 million for Brownfields Assessment Grants
• $10 million for Brownfields Revolving Loan Funds
• $5 million for Brownfields Cleanup Grants

Solicitations for the FY 2023 grants are expected to be announced later this summer. Both rural and urban entities, particularly in underserved communities, are encouraged to apply for this next round of EPA Brownfield grants. Eligible entities include local governments, 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organizations, and quasi-governmental agencies. First-time applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the Kentucky Brownfield staff for guidance and support prior to submitting their applications. In addition, a letter of support from the Kentucky Brownfield Redevelopment Program is required of all applicants.    

For more information about Kentucky’s grant recipients or to inquire about funding for restoring the environment and helping communities with economic recovery, contact Eric Eisiminger at 502-782-6601 or Lynn True at 502-782-6484.  For an overview of EPA’s Brownfields grants, please visit Types of EPA Brownfield Grant Funding | US EPA.  For information regarding solicitations for FY 2023 Brownfield grants proposals, please visit Solicitations for Brownfield Grants | US EPA.

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Low-Interest Cleanup Loans Available Through Brownfield Program

Frankfort, Ky. (Nov. 26, 2018) –– The Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Brownfield Redevelopment Program is pleased to announce the availability of low-interest cleanup loans through its Cleaner Commonwealth Fund (CCF). Brownfields are properties are that abandoned or underutilized due to contamination or the perception of contamination. The CCF makes funds available to qualified entities wishing to clean up brownfield sites and put them back into productive reuse. Entities and properties must meet certain requirements to be eligible.

• Loans are available to nonprofits and local governments.
• Applicants must adhere to proper Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser guidelines to be eligible for cleanup loan funds.
• Properties must be considered brownfields.
• While in most cases the applicant must own the property, there are some cases where the property can be owned by a partner organization.

EPA Awards $1.2 million in Brownfield Grants to Kentucky Communities

FRANKFORT, Ky. (June 10, 2016) –– The Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Brownfield Redevelopment Program announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has selected three projects to receive a total of six grants in Kentucky for brownfield community-wide assessments.

Over the past 11 years, with the help of the Kentucky Brownfields Redevelopment Program, Kentucky communities have received $12.9 million in EPA brownfields grants to help assess and remediate the estimated 8,000 brownfield properties in Kentucky. The Kentucky Brownfields Redevelopment Program offers assessment and grant review services, technical assistance and brownfields grant writing education to those communities and organizations that wish to revitalize properties with an environmental past.

Bankers, Others Offered Workshop on Brownfield Redevelopment

Focus on liability, exemptions, available incentives

FRANKFORT, Ky.  (Feb. 3, 2016) – Bankers and property development professionals can take a crash course in brownfield redevelopment through a workshop sponsored by the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection and the Louisville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

The workshop will be conducted 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. ET on Feb. 24, 2016, at the Louisville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank. Attendees will get a better understanding of brownfields– properties that are abandoned or underutilized due to real or perceived environmental contamination– and the issues surrounding contaminated property redevelopment.

Kentucky nearing century mark on brownfield property reclamations

Nearly 100 properties reclaimed in less than three years

You may not know what a “brownfield” really is, but you’ve seen them.

It’s the piece of land or old building that used to be something like a pencil factory, a gas station, an old hospital or a dry cleaner that sits empty year after year. Not only is it an eyesore at times, it might sit in what would otherwise be a prime location for a business, a parking garage or something that could be useful to a public or private entity.

But because brownfields often have a complicated history of real or perceived environmental issues, the sites often sit empty or unused for long periods of time, can become blighted, an insurance liability or have other problems that make them unusable or difficult to obtain financing for purchase.

Energy and Environment Cabinet Announces Second Round of Cleaner Commonwealth Fund Recipients

Provides financial assistance for projects that clean up brownfield sites

FRANKFORT, Ky. (June 22, 2015) – The Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Brownfield Redevelopment Program today announced the second group of grant recipients of the Cleaner Commonwealth Fund. Four projects are

FY 2015 EPA Brownfield Grant Guidance Announced—Due Dec. 19, 2014

Have a blighted property? Got properties with a questionable environmental history? Chances are you have brownfields. Brownfields are properties that are abandoned or underutilized due to contamination or the perception of contamination. They include a variety of sites, including abandoned schools and hospitals, former factories, mine-scarred lands, gas stations and dry cleaning sites. The good news is there are resources out there to assist communities, nonprofits and quasi-governmental agencies assess and remediate their problem properties, allowing communities to get those properties back into productive reuse.

Brownfield Property Is Now a Vibrant Community Center

When the City of Sharpsburg was offered a donation of the property on the site of the old Sharpsburg gym and school grounds, Mayor Dorothy Clemons and other city officials consulted with the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection’s Brownfield Redevelopment Program for assistance in determining the proper steps to take to accept the gift and request funding to revitalize the site. Realizing the benefits of redeveloping this property to create a much-needed community center, the city wanted to be sure the correct procedures were followed to detect any environmental contamination of the historic area, which would need to be cleaned before

Cleaner Commonwealth Announces First Grantees

The Kentucky Brownfield Redevelopment Program is pleased to announce the first grant recipients of the Cleaner Commonwealth Fund. In March, the program solicited requests for funds to redevelop brownfield properties. This fund, which is administered through the Division of Compliance Assistance, provides financial assistance for projects that clean up brownfield sites, including old factories, former gas stations and other properties that are abandoned or underutilized due to environmental contamination. The fund is a grant-and-loan fund established with an $850,000 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund grant.