Feds Open $235M in Funding to Assess and Clean up Brownfield Sites

The EPA has opened up $235 million in funding to help counties assess and clean up brownfields in their communities.  Last week the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of $235 million in grants to assess and clean up polluted brownfield sites across the country. The new grants through EPA’s Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup (MAC) program will advance environmental justice and help transform what were once polluted, vacant, and abandoned properties into…

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USDA Invests $3B in Climate-Smart Practices on Agricultural Lands 

The USDA is investing $3 billion in climate-friendly practices on farms and other agricultural operations.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is making more than $3 billion in funding available for agricultural producers and forest landowners nationwide to participate in voluntary conservation programs and adopt climate-smart practices in fiscal year 2024. These additional investments are estimated to help hundreds of thousands of farmers and ranchers apply conservation to millions of acres of land. The program will…

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USDOT – FHWA Opens $10B in Bridge Funding

The Federal Highway Administration recently opened applications for $10 billion in bridge funding.  The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration opened applications for nearly $10 billion in funding for fiscal years 2023-2026 through the competitive Bridge Investment Program’s “Large Bridge Project” category, which funds projects larger than $100 million. The Bridge Investment Program was established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which makes the single largest dedicated investment in bridges since the construction of the Interstate…

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Federal Government Looks to Set “Zero-Emission” Building Standards

The Biden Administration is looking to set building emission standards in an effort to help developers navigate a patchwork of state and local policies.  Commercial and residential buildings make up nearly one-third of US emissions. As climate change has continued to intensify, policymakers at the state and local levels have pushed to enact building energy performance standards, or BEPS, with the hope of reducing pollution in their communities. The state of Maryland & Howard County…

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US Senate Debates National Bottle Bill

Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley's national bottle bill recently had a hearing, complexities of implementation were highlighted.  Late last month Sen. Jeff Merkley's national bottle bill came up for a hearing before the Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight Subcommittee. One of the main themes of the hearing was the challenge of ensuring a national bottle bill did not negatively impact state and local recycling infrastructure. Similar legislation was introduced in 2021 but…

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Feds Announce $7.5B in Loans for PFAS Containment, Infrastructure Upgrades

The EPA recently opened up $7.5 billion in competitive low-interest loan funding to finance upgrades and maintenance for water infrastructure.  Late last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $7.5 billion in available Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) funding. This innovative low-interest loan program helps communities invest in drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure while saving millions of dollars and creating good-paying local jobs. To date, EPA’s WIFIA program has announced $19…

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EPA Makes Generational Investment in the Chesapeake Bay

The EPA will invest $238 million in Pennsylvania to help prevent pollutants from entering the bay.  A new update from the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership indicates a slight decline in water quality in the Chesapeake Bay, which seems to be a result of the heavy rainfall in the region during the summer of 2018 and 2019, that led to lower water clarity and dissolved oxygen. To achieve the CBP partnership’s water quality goals of improving water quality…

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Read more about the article HUD Launches Funding Navigator to Connect Counties to Federal Funding
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HUD Launches Funding Navigator to Connect Counties to Federal Funding

HUD launched a Funding Navigator to connect program participants to billions in federal funding and tax credits to improve carbon reduction and climate resilience. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced its first-ever Funding Navigator, an interactive tool that allows the user to browse and sort funding opportunities for billions of dollars in funding available under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). As a part of President Biden’s Investing…

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Baltimore City Receives $4M for Solar Powered Composting Facility

The EPA awarded Baltimore City $4 million to develop a solar-powered, scalable composting facility.  With the help of a $4 million award from the EPA, City of Baltimore will develop a solar-powered, scalable composting facility co-located with the new East Side Transfer Station at Bowley’s Lane. The proposed development leverages funds from the transfer station development project and from a partnership with Baltimore’s Department of Parks and Recreation. This project will result in 12,000 tons…

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Feds Open $19M to Improve Water Infrastructure Climate Resilience

The EPA has opened $19 million in competitive grants to help improve the climate resilience of the drinking water infrastructure.  Earlier this month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $19 million in new grant funding that will work to improve the climate resilience of the nation’s water infrastructure. EPA’s Drinking Water System Infrastructure Resilience and Sustainability grant program will support drinking water systems in underserved, small, and disadvantaged communities that are working to prepare…

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