[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 181 (Wednesday, September 22, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52670-52672]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-20470]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OLEM-2019-0540; FRL-8998-01-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 2022

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 brown fields sites and other sites with 
actual or perceived contamination. For Fiscal Year (FY) 2022, 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 CERCLA section 128(a) 
noncompetitive funding requests and utilization of these funds.

DATES: The FY 2022 CERCLA section 128(a) grant funding guidance is 
applicable as of October 1, 2021, and EPA Regional offices will accept 
requests for section 128(a) noncompetitive grant awards through 
December 17, 2021.

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

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assessment and cleanup activities at brownfield sites across the 
country. Note: the CERCLA definition of ``State'' 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 FY22 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 
technical assistance 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 2022 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 technical assistance under CERCLA 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 1, 
2021 through December 17, 2021. Requests EPA Regional offices receive 
after December 17, 2021 will not be considered for FY 2022 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 2022.
    Requests submitted by the December 17, 2021 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 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      Office Square, Suite
                                                               100 (OSRR07-2), Boston,   100 (OSRR07-2), Boston,
                                                               MA 02109-3912, Phone      MA 02109-3912, Phone
                                                               (617) 918-1248, Fax       (617) 918-1248, Fax
                                                               (617) 918-1294.           (617) 918-1294.
2--NJ, NY, PR, VI...........................................  John Struble, 290         John Struble, 290
                                                               Broadway, 25th Floor,     Broadway, 25th Floor,
                                                               New York, NY 10007-       New York, NY 10007-
                                                               1866, Phone (212) 637-    1866, Phone (212) 637-
                                                               4291, Fax (212) 637-      4291, Fax (212) 637-
                                                               3083.                     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,     Phone (215) 814-3371,
                                                               Fax (215) 814-3274.       Fax (215) 814-3274.
4--AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN...........................  Cindy Nolan, 61 Forsyth   Cindy Nolan, 61 Forsyth
                                                               Street, SW, 10TH FL       Street, SW, 10TH FL
                                                               (9T25), Atlanta, GA       (9T25), Atlanta, GA
                                                               30303-8960, Phone (404)   30303-8909, Phone (404)
                                                               562-8425, Fax (404) 562-  562-8425, Fax (404) 562-
                                                               8788.                     8788.

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

    Dated: September 16, 2021.
David R. Lloyd,
Director, Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization.
[FR Doc. 2021-20470 Filed 9-21-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P