The purpose of the North Dakota Brownfields State Program is to take contaminated or potentially contaminated, underdeveloped, unproductive property and convert it into productive real estate.
A Brownfield is a property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.
To date, the Department continues to receive Brownfields State Response grants from the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The grant can be used by the Department for environmental assessment and hazardous material cleanup activities at Brownfield sites within North Dakota.
The assessment activities include environmental activities preliminary to cleanup such as site assessment, site characterization and site response, or cleanup planning and design for areas that have an actual or threatened release of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Brownfield assessment and cleanup funds may only be used at sites where there is a release or substantial threat of release of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant which may present an imminent and substantial danger to public health or welfare.
In addition, funds may be used at sites where there is a reason to believe that a release has occurred or is about to occur.
Examples of potential Brownfield sites in North Dakota include:
- An abandoned retail commercial building which has or is suspected to have asbestos in the ceiling tiles, wall insulation, or on the heating system in the basement, and;
- An abandoned gas station with soil contamination.
The North Dakota Brownfields State Response Program is application based. Cities, counties, non-profits, and local development groups may qualify and apply for assistance.
An introduction letter to the North Dakota Brownfields State Response Program is available here:
Brownfields State Response Program Introduction.
The letter provides prospective applicants background information on Brownfields and how the Division's Brownfields Program works.
The application to request assessment and/or cleanup assistance from the North Dakota Brownfields State Response Program is available here:
Brownfields State Response Program Application.
A site access agreement required for all sites requesting assessment and/or cleanup assistance is available here:
Brownfields Site Access Agreement.
The application identifies the minimum requirements for requesting assistance for a single potential Brownfields site.
There are no limits on the number of sites that may be submitted for consideration, however, there is a limit on funds available to the Program.
Applicants submitting more than one site are asked to prioritize the applications based on local importance for re-development.
Eligible site applications will be considered on a first-come-first-served basis.
Should potential assessment and/or cleanup costs for all sites submitted exceed available funds, the sites will be put on a waiting list until funds become available.
A list of current and historic Brownfield sites is available here:
Brownfields
Sites In North Dakota.
For more information, contact by e-mail, DEQ-Brownfields@nd.gov
For more information on Brownfields, visit EPA's Brownfields
And Land Revitalization.
