Brownfields Reauthorization Act of 2025

This bill keeps the EPA’s Brownfields Program going through 2030 and makes it easier for towns, tribes, and local groups to clean up and reuse contaminated properties. It raises the cleanup grant limit to $1 million per site, cuts the local match from 20% to 10%, and tells the EPA to waive matches for small or disadvantaged communities. It also adds new weight to community voices in grant scoring, asking applicants to show how they will involve a broad range of local groups. The EPA must review and simplify its application process within a year to reduce confusion and encourage more applications from smaller places. Eligibility is broadened to include certain nonprofit business groups, like chambers of commerce, and Alaska Native Regional and Village Corporations. States and tribes can also use funds to implement their response programs, with specific funding levels set each year from 2025 to 2030.

Key points:

• Who is affected: States, communities, tribes, certain nonprofits (including 501(c)(6) groups like chambers of commerce), and Alaska Native Regional and Village Corporations.
• What changes: Higher grant cap ($1 million per site), lower cost share (10%) with waivers for small or disadvantaged areas, more community input in scoring, simpler applications, and permission for states/tribes to implement response programs.
• When: Program and funding are authorized through 2030, with annual amounts rising from $50 million in 2025 to $75 million in 2030 for state response programs; EPA must report and update guidance within one year.