Brownfields Resources
About
For projects with high public benefit, in areas of disaster recovery, or those working for municipal redevelopment, additional resources from the standard NC Department of Environmental Quality (NC DEQ) Brownfields Redevelopment Section (BRS) tax incentives and liability protections may also be available.
News Items
For current newsletters, upcoming events, grant funding opportunities, and other important notices, refer to the News Items page.
New to Brownfields?
Explore the factsheet that best matches your role and learn how brownfields programs can support your goals.
- PDs
- Municipalities
- Banks
- Community Members
Municipal Assistance Services
Municipalities may receive grant-funded assistance for:
- Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs)
- Phase II ESAs
- Structural evaluations
- Feasibility studies
- Environmental Management Plans (EMPs)
- Reuse planning
BRS provides no-cost support for communities preparing EPA Brownfields applications, including:
- Site selection support
- Threshold criteria
- Final application review
Communities can receive assistance with:
- Community involvement plans
- Public meeting materials
- Stakeholder identification
- Risk communication
- Community survey and feedback
EPA Grantee Resources
For municipalities that have received EPA Brownfields funding, BRS offers technical and administrative support.
Technical Document Review
- Generic Quality Assurance Project Plans (QAPPs)
- Site-Specific QAPPs (SSQAPPs)
- Sampling and Analysis Plans (SAPs)
Community Engagement Support
- Attendance and presentation of Brownfields topics
Fact sheets and educational resources
NC DEQ Brownfields Redevelopment Section Grants
This Summer, DEQ BRS has collaborated with other DEQ Sections within the Division of Waste Management (DWM) and received a non-competitive EPA Helene Recover grant. Over $60 million will be used to assist countless communities within the affected disaster areas. DEQ BRS is actively seeking sites that have become idled following Hurricane Helene.
- The DEQ Brownfields Redevelopment Section (BRS) has funds available to assist property owners and communities with:
Environmental Site Assessments - Remediation
- Community Planning Efforts
- Feasibility Studies
Key Requirement: Property must have been in productive use at the time of Helene and is now idled as a result.
Ideal properties for assessment would be sites with environmental concern such as former industrial property, gas stations, dry cleaners, fill sites, etc. that require evaluation or remediation prior to reuse. The result of these assessments will aid recovery by providing options for redeveloping contaminated sites.
Selection criteria will include:
- Geospatial Indicators (e.g.risk of future flooding)
- Benefit to Community
- Economic Impact
More information can be found on the Hurricane Helene Laserfiche page.
In 2022, DEQ BRS was awarded $2 million from a Community-Wide Assessment Grant for States and Tribes (CWAG-ST) grant in which funds have been used to cover 10 Phase I ESAs, 15 Phase II ESAs, 3 Structural Evaluations, and 2 Environmental Management Plans.
This fall, BRS is applying for another $2 million Assessment grant to complete site assessments across the entire state. DEQ will continue to use these grant funds for environmental assessments (Phase I ESA, Phase II ESA, etc.), reuse planning, community engagement, and grant management.
Ideal sites would be municipality-owned/operated/of interest for municipality purchase, hindered by real/perceived contamination, have geospatial indicators of potential climate change risk, and be in an area of targeted growth with economic development potential. The priority area will encompass the entire State, which is a shift from the previous assessment grant's three target areas. Sites may also have a developer interested in cooperating with municipalities for redevelopment opportunities.
More information can be found on the CWAG-ST Laserfiche page.
Providing access to grant related documents is a priority. All grant related work is saved on the Laserfiche WebLink repository. To access completed CWAG-ST Grant files, go to the Laserfiche WebLink and type in 000MARC in the "Search in WebLink" search bar.
Types of documents that will be stored here include:
- DEQ Grant Work Plan
- Community Involvement Plan
- Stakeholder meeting presentation slides
- Stakeholder meeting recordings (if available, not all are recorded)
- Site specific project files
EPA Brownfields Technical Assistance Grants (TAGs) provide up to $20,000 to eligible communities for independent technical assistance related to brownfield sites. TAG funds may be used to hire qualified technical advisors to help communities understand environmental conditions, interpret assessment results, evaluate cleanup options, or conduct market research and reuse planning. TAGs are intended to support meaningful community engagement by ensuring residents and local leaders have access to expert guidance during the brownfields assessment and redevelopment process.
In North Carolina, communities interested in TAG support should review EPA eligibility requirements and coordinate with the NC DEQ Brownfields Redevelopment Section for assistance.
Brownfields Community Network and Outreach
The Brownfields Community Network (BCN) is a collaborative forum that connects local governments, Councils of Governments, economic development organizations, state agencies, and community stakeholders to share information and resources related to brownfields redevelopment. BCN hosts quarterly meetings that provide grant updates, highlight redevelopment success stories, offer training opportunities, and feature guest speakers on funding and redevelopment resources. Participants can stay informed by subscribing to the Brownfields Updates mailing list, which distributes meeting invitations, funding announcements, training opportunities, and program updates. To sign-up for emails, please select "Brownfields Community Network News" on our Email List page.
Interested in attending the stakeholder meetings, getting on the newsletter mailing list, or finding out if your community qualifies for an assessment? Would you like someone from the DEQ Brownfields Redevelopment Section to speak at your event? Contact the grant coordinator, Jordan Thompson at jordan.thompson@deq.nc.gov or 704-223-6549.
Recordings of Past Meetings
Recordings of past meetings may be found in our online document repository which can be accessed at the link below:
If you would like to receive information on BRS grant related items such as upcoming community meetings/training opportunities, applications, or other grant/community specific news, then enter the requested information below. Note this is a separately maintained list from the DEQ BRS Stakeholders, which is geared toward for-profit development teams such as developers, environmental consultants, and attorneys.
Additional Resources for Communities and Future Applicants
- The Development Finance Initiative (DFI) at the UNC School of Government provides specialized finance and development expertise to local governments seeking to attract private investment, particularly for sites where redevelopment has been challenging. DFI partners with communities on:
- Building reuse and downtown revitalization
- Community and neighborhood development
- Economic development initiatives
- The EPA administers small Technical Assistance Grants (TAGs) through state Brownfields programs. Each state may receive one TAG, awarded in the amount of $20,000, to support technical advisory services or market research for eligible communities. North Carolina’s 2021 TAG recipient was the Town of Mayodan, for which the state submitted an application on the community’s behalf. Communities interested in pursuing TAG support should review EPA eligibility criteria and contact one of the EPA liaisons listed below.
Recent Grantees
The EPA press release and detailed and searchable information on the following grantees may be found here: https://java.epa.gov/acrespub/gfs/.
Contact Information
If you have any questions or require further assistance, please contact our EPA Liaisons listed below:
Jordan Thompson: by phone at 704-223-6549 (cell); or by email at jordan.thompson@deq.nc.gov
Kaili Matiaco: by phone at 910-508-2214 (cell); or by email at kaili.matiaco@deq.nc.gov