[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 184 (Monday, September 23, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49728-49729]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-20554]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-10000-19-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 2020

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: EPA Section 128(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended, 
authorizes a noncompetitive $50 million grant program to establish and 
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) 2020, 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 grant applications and 
the use of Fiscal Year 2020 section 128(a) funds.

DATES: The FY 2020 grant funding guidance is applicable as of October 
1, 2019. EPA expects to make non-competitive grant awards to states and 
tribes which apply during FY 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rachel Lentz, Office of Brownfields 
and Land Revitalization, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number (202) 
566-2745.

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.

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 or in person at the Office of Land and 
Emergency Management Docket (OLEM Docket), Environmental Protection 
Agency Docket Center (EPA/DC), West William Jefferson Clinton Bldg., 
Rm. 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC. The Public Reading 
Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading 
Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the OLEM Docket is 
(202) 566-0270. Please review the visitor instructions and additional 
information about the docket that is available at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    2. Electronic access. To access the 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 and 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 CERCLA section 104(k)(7) (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)(7)) (i.e., by 
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) 
recognizes the response programs' critical role in overseeing cleanups 
and strengthens EPA's partnerships with states and tribes.
    CERCLA 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

[[Page 49729]]

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 2020 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 exception of 
funds used to capitalize a revolving loan fund for brownfield 
remediation under CERCLA section 104(k)(3) or of funds received for a 
Small Technical Assistance Grant under CERLCA section 
128(a)(I)(B)(ii)(III); or 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 will be accepted from 
October 1, 2019 through December 6, 2019. Requests EPA receives after 
December 6, 2019 will not be considered for FY 2020 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 2020.
    Requests submitted by the December 6, 2019 request deadline are 
preliminary; final cooperative agreement work plans and budgets will be 
negotiated with the 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. Also, EPA will prioritize funding for 
recipients establishing their response programs.

Table 1--EPA Regional Brownfields Contacts for State and Tribal Response
                                Programs
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                                 State response        Tribal response
       Regional office           program contact       program contact
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Region 1 (CT, ME, MA, NH,     James Byrne, 5 Post   AmyJean McKeown, 5
 RI, VT).                      Office Square,        Post Office Square,
                               Suite 100 (OSRR07-    Suite 100 (OSRR07-
                               2), Boston, MA        2), Boston, MA
                               02109-3912, Phone:    02109-3912, Phone:
                               (617) 918-1389;       (617) 918-1248;
                               Fax: (617) 918-1294.  Fax: (617) 918-
                                                     1294.
Region 2, (NJ, NY, PR, VI)..  John Struble, 290     Phillip Clappin, 290
                               Broadway, 18th        Broadway, 18th
                               Floor, New York, NY   Floor, New York, NY
                               10007-1866, Phone:    10007-1866, Phone:
                               (212) 637-4291;       (212) 637-4431;
                               Fax: (212) 637-3083.  Fax: (212) 637-
                                                     3083.
Region 3, (DE, DC, MD, PA,    Michael Taurino,      Michael Taurino,
 VA, WV).                      1650 Arch Street      1650 Arch Street
                               (3HS51),              (3HS51),
                               Philadelphia, PA      Philadelphia, PA
                               19103, Phone: (215)   19103, Phone: (215)
                               814-3371; Fax:        814-3371; Fax:
                               (215) 814-3274.       (215) 814-3274.
Region 4, (AL, FL, GA, KY,    Cindy Nolan, 61       Cindy Nolan, 61
 MS, NC, SC, TN).              Forsyth Street SW,    Forsyth Street SW,
                               10TH FL (9T25),       10TH FL (9T25),
                               Atlanta, GA 30303-    Atlanta, GA 30303-
                               8960, Phone: (404)    8960, Phone: (404)
                               562-8425; Fax:        562-8425; Fax:
                               (404) 562-8788.       (404) 562-8788.
Region 5, (IL, IN, MI, MN,    Keary Cragan, 77      Rosita Clark, 77
 OH, WI).                      West Jackson          West Jackson
                               Boulevard (SB-5J),    Boulevard (SB-5J),
                               Chicago, IL 60604-    Chicago, IL 60604-
                               3507, Phone: (312)    3507, Phone: (312)
                               353-5669; Fax:        886-7251; Fax:
                               (312) 692-2161.       (312) 697-2075.
Region 6, (AR, LA, NM, OK,    Roger Hancock, 1445   Roger Hancock, 1445
 TX).                          Ross Avenue, Suite    Ross Avenue, Suite
                               1200 (6SF), Dallas,   1200 (6SF), Dallas,
                               TX 75202-2733,        TX 75202-2733,
                               Phone: (214) 665-     Phone: (214) 665-
                               6688; Fax: (214)      6688; Fax: (214)
                               665-6660.             665-6660.
Region 7, (IA, KS, MO, NE)..  Susan Klein, 11201    Jennifer Morris,
                               Renner Boulevard      11201 Renner
                               (SUPRSTAR), Lenexa    Boulevard
                               KS 66219, Phone:      (SUPRSTAR), Lenexa
                               (913) 551-7786;       KS 66219, Phone:
                               Fax: (913) 551-9786.  (913) 551-7341;
                                                     Fax: (913) 551-
                                                     9341.
Region 8, (CO, MT, ND, SD,    Christina Wilson,     Melisa Devincenzi,
 UT, WY).                      1595 Wynkoop Street   1595 Wynkoop Street
                               (EPR-AR), Denver,     (EPR-AR), Denver,
                               CO 80202-1129,        CO 80202-1129,
                               Phone: (303) 312-     Phone: (303) 312-
                               6706; Fax: (303)      6377; Fax: (303)
                               312-6065.             312-6962.
Region 9, (AZ, CA, HI, NV,    Jose Garcia, Jr.,     Jose Garcia, Jr.,
 AS, GU, MP).                  600 Wilshire Blvd,    600 Wilshire Blvd,
                               Suite 1460, Los       Suite 1460, Los
                               Angeles, CA 90017,    Angeles, CA 90017,
                               Phone: (213) 244-     Phone: (213) 244-
                               1811; Fax: (213)      1811; Fax: (213)
                               244-1850.             244-1850.
Region 10, (AK, ID, OR, WA).  Mary K. Goolie, 222   Mary K. Goolie, 222
                               West 7th Avenue #19   West 7th Avenue #19
                               (AOO), Anchorage,     (AOO), Anchorage,
                               AK 99513, Phone:      AK 99513, Phone:
                               (907) 271-3414;       (907) 271-3414;
                               Fax: (907) 271-3424.  Fax: (907) 271-
                                                     3424.
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    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 9628(a).

    Dated: September 10, 2019.
David R. Lloyd,
Director, Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization.
[FR Doc. 2019-20554 Filed 9-20-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


