Chattanooga, TN – According to the state officials, these grants, funded through the Rural Brownfield Redevelopment Investment Act, are designed to support environmental protection and economic development, particularly in rural areas.
The act provides local governments and development boards with essential resources for investigating, cleaning up, and redeveloping contaminated properties.
Brownfields are underutilized or vacant properties impacted by contamination. Remediation efforts address potential threats to public health, safety, and the environment. Brownfield sites vary widely in size, location, age, and previous use.
The BRAG grants are categorized into three areas: identification, investigation, and remediation. The grants announced today fall under the identification category, offering up to $20,000 per grant to conduct inventories of brownfield sites. Grants for investigation and remediation will be announced in the future.
Thanks to the leadership of Gov. Bill Lee and the Tennessee General Assembly, these grants are intended to speed up the cleanup and redevelopment of brownfields, transforming these blighted properties into valuable community assets.