TDEC Announces $20K in Brownfield Redevelopment Area Grant for Fayette County
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) recently announced 36 Brownfield Redevelopment Area Grants (BRAG) totaling $718,757 for remediation projects across the state, including $20,000 for Fayette County.
BRAG grants are derived from the Rural Brownfield Redevelopment Investment Act, which protects the environment and creates economic opportunities, especially in rural settings. The legislation empowers local governments and development boards with resources needed for investigation, cleanup, and redevelopment of blighted properties.
A brownfield is a property vacant or underutilized due to contamination. Remediation minimizes threats to public health, safety, and the environment. Brownfield sites vary in size, location, age, and past use.
Click here to read about the 500k Brownfield grant received by the City of Bolivar.
BRAG grants are awarded in three categories – identification, investigation, and remediation. The grants announced are for the identification category, which allows applicants to apply for up to $20,000 to conduct brownfield inventories. Grants in the other categories will be announced later.
Through the leadership of Governor Bill Lee and the Tennessee General Assembly, the law provides direct funding to accelerate brownfield cleanup and redevelopment, assisting local governments in transforming blighted properties into community assets.
Brownfield redevelopment creates jobs, increases property values, increases tax revenue, and expands the tax base. Brownfield properties can include sites such as old industrial facilities, former coal yards/junk yards, abandoned gas stations, and closed landfills.
“These grants address significant issues with blighted properties across Tennessee,” Lee said. “The process of cleaning up a contaminated property and turning it into an asset is an important step in environmental stewardship. We commend the communities who have gone through the application process.”
In this first year of the BRAG program, TDEC received overwhelming interest in the grants. Many high-quality and critical projects are being addressed with these funds.
Read more local news by clicking here.
Stay informed on what’s happening in Hardeman County by subscribing to Hatchie Press e-mail updates.
Do you have community news you’d like to share? E-mail us at news@hatchiepress.com.
