TDEC To Host Webinars for Brownfield Redevelopment Grants
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) will host pre-application webinars in February to discuss the availability of brownfield redevelopment grants, designed to assist communities with cleanup and revitalizing contaminated properties.
The grants are available through the state’s Rural Brownfield Redevelopment Investment Act, driving funds to enhance economic and environmental outcomes in Tennessee’s smaller, rural communities.
The webinars for the Brownfield Redevelopment Area Grant (BRAG), will be held Thursday Feb. 1 at 9:30 a.m. (CST) and Wednesday Feb. 7 at 2 p.m. (CST). Officials from TDEC’s Division of Remediation will discuss eligibility and ways to make strong proposals for the grants. A Q&A session will follow.
After the webinars, TDEC will conduct application workshops to walk through the process March 19 and March 20.
Eligible applicants include, but are not limited to, a county, municipality, development district, or development board. Towns and cities are encouraged to apply regardless of former brownfield remediation experience. Grants are capped at $500,000 annually per eligible entity.
Gov. Bill Lee has focused on investments and resources for rural and at-risk communities, and the Tennessee General Assembly last year provided $5.3 million to create the BRAG grants. The direct funding will address environmental cleanup, reduce the risk to human health, and return properties to marketable use. The program creates jobs, increases property values, increases tax revenue, and expands a community’s tax base.
Anyone interested in the grant process may also contact the project coordinator, Amy MacKown-Dyman, at
Amy.MacKown@tn.gov or 615-917-8873.