Multipurpose Grants

Federal Agency

Sub-Department

N/A

Purpose

To address important environmental priorities under existing statutes, such as advancing environmental justice and tackling climate change, including development and enforcement of regulations requiring that sources of contamination clean up and remediate affected areas; pre-cleanup and pre-remediation activities such as site assessment and sampling; and public outreach for site-specific work.

Applicant and/or Project Eligibility Requirements

Eligible recipients are generally state agencies that carry out the federally funded environmental programs. There is a 15% funding carve-out for rural communities.

Decarbonization Considerations

While this program is not explicitly focused on reducing emissions for energy-systems, states and tribes could still plan, assess, survey, and conduct other activities to advance renewable energy siting on brownfields and other site preparation or cleanup activities that can accelerate the reuse of important community sites for renewable energy, energy storage, transit centers, or vehicle charging hubs.

Equity Considerations

Cleaning up contaminated sites of any size often yields immediate environmental and human health, environmental justice benefit, and distributional equity benefits.

Helpful Tips

This year, EPA seems to be prioritizing using funds to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Other Notes

States who submit workplans or workplan amendments consistent with the multipurpose grant guidance and approved by their respective EPA Region will receive the full amount for which they are eligible.