Superfund Technical Assistance Grant Program (TAG)
Federal Agency
Sub-Department
Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM)
Purpose
To provide funding to community groups to contract their own technical advisor to interpret and explain technical reports, site conditions, and EPA’s proposed cleanup proposals and decisions. EPA's Superfund program is responsible for cleaning up some of the nation’s most contaminated lands.
Applicant and/or Project Eligibility Requirements
Eligible recipients include groups incorporated to address the impacts of a Superfund site on members' health, economic wellbeing, or environmental enjoyment. EPA is authorized to award only one TAG at a time for each Superfund site.
Decarbonization Considerations
Transforming underutilized or abandoned Superfund sites in your community into clean energy hubs can also spur economic revitalization. These funds can help determine which brownfields and closed landfill sites may be good fits for hosting solar or other renewable energy. The EPA offers explicit guidance for considering such "brightfields" projects: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/are-you-considering-renewable-energy-or-energy-efficient-approaches-your-brownfields
Equity Considerations
More than one in four Black and Hispanic Americans live within 3 miles of a Superfund site. No community deserves to have contamination near where they live, work, play, and go to school. With this funding, communities living near many of the most serious uncontrolled or abandoned releases of contamination will finally get the support they deserve to reconsider the future of these sites. This program is specifically designed to ensure more equitable participation in Superfund planning, helping community groups interpret and explain site reports and conditions, as well as proposed cleanup plans and decisions.
Helpful Tips
The EPA identifies ideal TAG recipients, including (1) community groups or citizens’ associations formed because Superfund site issues, (2) groups of individuals actively involved at the Superfund site, including all the affected individuals and groups who joined in applying for the TAG, and (3) consortia of groups with community concerns about the Superfund site and its effects on the surrounding area.
Other Notes
For more information on EPA's RE-Powering America's Lands program, see here: https://www.epa.gov/re-powering/re-powering-tracking-matrix