The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) has facilitated the City of Chattanooga in obtaining a $3.5 million supplemental Revolving Loan Fund grant. This grant aims to support the cleanup of brownfields across the city. This funding is part of three federal grants announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for brownfield remediation in Tennessee. Additional grants include $632,807 for the City of Dunlap and $1.5 million for the South Central Tennessee Development District and its partners, bringing the total funding in the state to $5,632,807.
TDEC assisted the grantees in their applications for federal funds and will continue to provide technical oversight throughout the grant period. Greg Young, deputy commissioner for Environment at TDEC, expressed satisfaction with the communities’ success in securing the grants, emphasizing that brownfields can be transformed into community assets through these federal funds.
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The EPA has announced over $300 million in grants under the Investing in America initiative, aimed at aiding states, tribal nations, local governments, and non-profit organizations in cleaning up polluted brownfield sites nationwide. Chattanooga’s Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) program, recognized for its high performance but significantly depleted funds, has been selected to receive the $3.5 million through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).
The RLF program in Chattanooga has successfully facilitated nine cleanup projects through loans or subgrants. Potential projects for the new BIL funding include the site of a former foundry at 2701 Chestnut St. and multiple sites on South Broad Street. The funding will extend the RLF program’s capacity to provide financial support for more cleanups in underserved areas of the city. In revolving loan funds, proceeds from loan repayments are reinvested into the fund for future loans.
The grant for the City of Dunlap is designated for the remediation of the former Victory Automotive property. Meanwhile, the South Central Tennessee Development District and its partners will use their grant to assess brownfields in 13 counties: Bedford, Coffee, Franklin, Giles, Hickman, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, Marshall, Maury, Moore, Perry, and Wayne.
A brownfield is a property rendered vacant or underutilized due to contamination, posing threats to public health, safety, and the environment. Remediation efforts aim to mitigate these threats, making the sites safe and potentially valuable for community use again.
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TDOT Wins Three National Beautification Awards
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