By Betsey Suchanic, Grow America

Grow America and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) have launched a new Technical Assistance for Brownfields (TAB) collaboration. This new initiative will learn from and build support for EPA Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) grantees nationwide. By leveraging proven expertise, a range of offerings will be available to prospective, current, or past Brownfields RLF grantees and will focus on financial capacity, networking, and training.

 

Why Brownfield Revolving Loan Funds?

At Grow America, we know how powerful revolving loan fund (RLF) can be as a financing tool to fill local capital gaps. We’ve seen this through our lending and in our Economic Development Administration RLF Community of Practice. RLFs have proven to be a particularly key environmental strategy in the addressing and cleaning up brownfields. This can be seen through the success of EPA’s Brownfields RLF Grant program. Across the country, from Maine to Washington, Brownfields RLF grantees have transformed properties to create significant environmental and economic benefits.

However, while these Brownfields RLF grants are powerful tools, they also come with a lot of learning, policies, procedures, and a wide range of opportunities for possible impact. With additional support, applicants and grantees can use these funds to unlock more environmental and economic benefits. It’s this opportunity for support that has led to the partnership between Grow American and ICMA, made possible by funds from the EPA.

 

What kinds of support will be available?

Over the course of the next five years, this new program offers a range of learning opportunities and ways to connect with your peers.

  • National Brownfields RLF Advisory Council: To underpin and inform this initiative, it will be informed and led by a committee of Brownfields RLF leaders and stakeholders with a deep background in applying for and implementing these strategies.
  • Brownfield RLF Online Portal: To engage with fellow Brownfields RLF grantees seamlessly, an online portal with forums and a robust resource bank is available serve as a starting point for any needs, models, or burning questions.
  • In-Person and Virtual Peer-to-Peer Exchanges: Beyond the online portal, Grow America and ICMA will convene both national and regional meetings to allow individuals to share, learn, and collaborate on needs, strategies, capacities and program impact. (Save the Date: The first of these in-person exchanges will take place in August 2025 ahead of the National Brownfields Training Conference!)
  • Brownfields RLF Project Officer Academy: If you aren’t yet a Brownfields RLF grantee, a training academy will provide an on-ramp and application assistance to help prepare your organization and community for this opportunity.
  • Cohort Training Program: If you are already a Brownfields RLF grantee, there will be an opportunity to learn alongside other grantees through an in-depth cohort training program. This will be focused on ensuring you can maximize the impact of your RLF and all your questions are answered throughout your RLF cycle.

 

 

How to get involved?

You do not have to wait long to start identifying resources and connecting with other Brownfields RLF grantees. Some the upcoming opportunities available are:

  • Register for our upcoming listening session: Join us for an online information session on Thursday, April 24, 2025 at 1:00pm EST/10:00am PST to learn more about these program supports from the team at Grow America and ICMA and ask any questions you have.
  • Sign up to join the online community: Our online platform is now live! You can easily sign-up for an account to browse and post in forums and explore our growing resource bank.
  • Serve as an advisory committee member: We are seeking experienced Brownfields RLF leaders and stakeholders to serve on our program advisory committee, to provide feedback and ensure the relevance of any peer-to-peer or training efforts. If you are interested in serving on our committee, please email our team at: epa-rlf-tab@growamerica.org
  • Join us in-person ahead of the National Brownfields Training Conference: To bring this community together, there will be a pre-conference, in-person session on Tuesday, August 4th ahead of the National Brownfields conference dedicated to learning and conversations for prospective or current Brownfields RLF grantees. We hope to see you there!

We are looking forward to learning from and working alongside you to leverage your Brownfields RLF for environmental an economic impact. If you have any questions or interest beyond the opportunities to get involved above, feel free to email us at: epa-rlf-tab@growamerica.org

 

This Technical Assistance for Brownfields Collaboration is operated by Grow America using Federal funds from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the EPA.