[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 192 (Friday, October 2, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62299-62301]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-21255]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OLEM-2019-0540 FRL-10015-15-OLEM]


Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability 
Act (CERCLA) or Superfund, Section 128(a); Notice of Grant Funding 
Guidance for State and Tribal Response Programs for Fiscal Year 2021

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended, authorizes a noncompetitive $50 
million grant program to establish or enhance state and tribal response 
programs. These response programs generally address the assessment, 
cleanup, and redevelopment of brownfields sites and other sites with 
actual or perceived contamination. For Fiscal Year (FY) 2021, the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will consider grant requests up 
to a maximum of $1.0 million per state or tribe. This document 
announces the availability of guidance that will assist states and 
tribes in the development and submission of funding requests and these 
funds.

DATES: The FY 2021 section 128(a) grant funding guidance is applicable 
as of October 2, 2020, and EPA Regional offices will accept requests 
for section 128(a) noncompetitive grant awards through December 11, 
2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melissa Papasavvas, Office of 
Brownfields and Land Revitalization, Environmental Protection Agency, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number 
(202) 566-0435.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    You may be affected by this action if you administer a State or 
Tribal response program that oversees assessment and cleanup activities 
at brownfield sites across the country. Note: the CERCLA definition of 
``State''

[[Page 62300]]

includes US Territories and the District of Columbia (CERCLA section 
101(27)).

B. How can I get copies of the grant funding guidance and other related 
information?

    1. Docket. The docket for this action, identified by docket 
identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OLEM-2019-0540, is available online 
at https://www.regulations.gov.
    2. EPA website. To access the FY21 section 128(a) grant funding 
guidance on EPA's website, please go to https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/types-brownfields-grant-funding.

II. Authority

    CERCLA Section 128(a) (42 U.S.C. 9628(a)) authorizes a 
noncompetitive $50 million grant program to ``establish or enhance'' 
state and tribal response programs. CERCLA section 
128(a)(1)(B)(ii)(III) authorizes a noncompetitive $1.5 million grant 
program to assist small communities, Indian tribes, rural areas, or 
disadvantaged areas to carry out activities outlined in CERCLA section 
104(k)(7) (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)(7)) (i.e., 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).

III. Background

    1. General. State and tribal response programs oversee assessment 
and cleanup activities at brownfield sites across the country. The 
depth and breadth of these programs vary. Some focus on CERCLA-related 
activities, while others are multi-faceted, addressing sites regulated 
by both CERCLA and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (42 
U.S.C. 6901 et seq.). Many states also offer accompanying financial 
incentive programs to spur cleanup and redevelopment. In enacting the 
Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act 
(Pub. L. 107-118, 115 Stat. 2356), which added section 128 to CERCLA, 
Congress recognized the value of state and tribal response programs in 
cleaning up and redeveloping brownfield sites. Section 128(a) 
strengthens EPA's partnerships with states and tribes and recognizes 
their response programs' critical role in overseeing cleanups.
    Section 128(a) response program grants are funded with categorical 
State and Tribal Assistance Grant (STAG) appropriations. Categorical 
grants are issued by Congress to fund state and local governments for 
narrowly defined purposes. This funding is intended for those states 
and tribes that have the required management and administrative 
capacity within their government to administer a federal grant. The 
primary goal of this funding is to ensure that state and tribal 
response programs include, or are taking reasonable steps to include, 
certain elements of an environmental response program and that the 
program establishes and maintains a public record of sites addressed.
    Section 128(a) cooperative agreements are awarded and administered 
by the EPA regional offices. Generally, these response programs address 
the assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment of brownfields sites and 
other sites with actual or perceived contamination. Subject to the 
availability of funds, EPA regional personnel will provide technical 
assistance to states and tribes as they apply for and carry out section 
128(a) cooperative agreements.
    2. Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) and EPA Funding 
Opportunity Number (FON). The CFDA entry for the section 128(a) State 
and Tribal Response Program cooperative agreements is 66.817. The FON 
for FY 2021 section 128(a) funds is EPA-CEP-02. This grant program is 
eligible to be included in state and tribal Performance Partnership 
Grants under 40 CFR part 35 Subparts A and B, with the following 
exceptions: Funds used to capitalize a revolving loan fund for 
brownfield remediation under CERCLA section 104(k)(3); funds received 
for a Small Technical Assistance Grant under CERLCA section 
128(a)(I)(B)(ii)(III); and funds used to purchase environmental 
insurance or developing a risk sharing pool, an indemnity pool, or 
insurance mechanism to provide financing for response actions under a 
State or Tribal response program.
    3. Application period. Requests for funding should be sent to the 
appropriate Regional EPA contact and will be accepted from October 2, 
2020 through December 11, 2020. Requests EPA Regional offices receive 
after December 11, 2020 will not be considered for FY 2021 funding. 
States or tribes that do not submit the request in the appropriate 
manner may forfeit their ability to receive funds. First time 
requestors are strongly encouraged to contact their respective Regional 
EPA Brownfields contacts, identified in Table 1, prior to submitting 
their funding request. EPA will consider funding requests up to a 
maximum of $1.0 million per state or tribe for FY 2021.
    Requests submitted by the December 11, 2020 request deadline are 
preliminary; final cooperative agreement work plans and budgets will be 
negotiated with the EPA regional offices once final funding allocation 
determinations are made. As in previous years, EPA will place special 
emphasis on reviewing a cooperative agreement recipient's use of prior 
section 128(a) funding in making allocation decisions, and unexpended 
balances are subject to 40 CFR 35.118 and 40 CFR 35.518 to the extent 
consistent with this guidance. EPA will also prioritize funding for 
recipients establishing their response programs.

                Table 1--EPA Regional Brownfields Contacts for State and Tribal Response Programs
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                         Region                                      State                      Tribal
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1. CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT...............................  AmyJean McKeown, 5 Post     AmyJean McKeown, 5 Post
                                                           Office Square, Suite 100    Office Square, Suite 100
                                                           (OSRR07-2) Boston, MA       (OSRR07-2) Boston, MA
                                                           02109-3912, Phone (617)     02109-3912, Phone (617)
                                                           918-1248 Fax (617) 918-     918-1248 Fax (617) 918-
                                                           1294.                       1294.
2. NJ, NY, PR, VI.......................................  John Struble, 290           John Struble, 290
                                                           Broadway, 25th Floor, New   Broadway, 25th Floor, New
                                                           York, NY 10007-1866,        York, NY 10007-1866,
                                                           Phone (212) 637-4291 Fax    Phone (212) 637-4291 Fax
                                                           (212) 637-3083.             (212) 637-3083.
3. DE, DC, MD, PA, VA, WV...............................  Mike Taurino, 1650 Arch     Mike Taurino, 1650 Arch
                                                           Street (3HS51),             Street (3HS51),
                                                           Philadelphia, PA 19103,     Philadelphia, PA 19103,
                                                           Phone (215) 814-3371 Fax    Phone (215) 814-3371 Fax
                                                           (215) 814-3274.             (215) 814-3274.
4. AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN.......................  Cindy Nolan, 61 Forsyth     Cindy Nolan, 61 Forsyth
                                                           Street, S.W, 10TH FL        Street, S.W, 10TH FL
                                                           (9T25) Atlanta, GA 30303-   (9T25) Atlanta, GA 30303-
                                                           8960, Phone (404) 562-      8909, Phone (404) 562-
                                                           8425 Fax (404) 562-8788.    8425 Fax (404) 562-8788.

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5. IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI...............................  Keary Cragan, 77 West       Rosita Clarke, 77 West
                                                           Jackson Boulevard (SB-5J)   Jackson Boulevard (SB-5J)
                                                           Chicago, IL 60604-3507,     Chicago, IL 60604-3507,
                                                           Phone (312) 353-5669 Fax    Phone (312) 886-7251 Fax
                                                           (312) 692-2161.             (312) 697-2075.
6. AR, LA, NM, OK, TX...................................  Ana Esquivel, 1201 Elm      Elizabeth Reyes, 1201 Elm
                                                           Street, Suite 500,          Street, Suite 500,
                                                           Dallas, Texas 75270-2102,   Dallas, Texas 75270-2102,
                                                           Phone (214) 665-3163 Fax    Phone (214) 665-2194 Fax
                                                           (214) 665-6660.             (214) 665-6660.
7. IA, KS, MO, NE.......................................  Susan Klein, 11201 Renner   Jennifer Morris, 11201
                                                           Boulevard (LCRD/            Renner Boulevard ((LCRD/
                                                           BSPR)Lenexa KS 66219,       BSPR) Lenexa KS 66219,
                                                           Phone (913) 551-7786.       Phone (913) 551-7341.
8. CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY...............................  Christina Wilson, 1595      Melisa Devincenzi, 1595
                                                           Wynkoop Street (8LCR-BR)    Wynkoop Street (8LCR-BR)
                                                           Denver, CO 80202-1129,      Denver, CO 80202-1129,
                                                           Phone (303) 312-6706 Fax    Phone (303) 312-6377 Fax
                                                           (303) 312-6065.             (303) 312-6962.
9. AZ, CA, HI, NV, AS, GU, MP...........................  Jose Garcia, Jr., 600       Jose Garcia, Jr., 600
                                                           Wilshire Blvd, Suite        Wilshire Blvd, Suite
                                                           1460, Los Angeles, CA       1460, Los Angeles, CA
                                                           90017, Phone (213) 244-     90017, Phone (213) 244-
                                                           1811 Fax (213) 244-1850.    1811 Fax (213) 244-1850.
10. AK, ID, OR, WA......................................  Madison Sanders-Curry,      Madison Sanders-Curry,
                                                           1200 Sixth Ave, Suite 155   1200 Sixth Ave, Suite 155
                                                           (mail code 15-H04),         (mail code 15-H04),
                                                           Seattle, WA 98101, Phone    Seattle, WA 98101, Phone
                                                           (206 553-1889 Fax 206 553-  (206) 553-1889 Fax (206)
                                                           8581.                       553-8581.
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    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 9628(a).

    Dated: September 22, 2020.
David Lloyd,
Director, Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization.
[FR Doc. 2020-21255 Filed 10-1-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P