Brownfields in Washington
Brownfields are abandoned or underutilized properties that may have environmental contamination. Brownfields are common in communities of all sizes — they may be old gas stations, dry cleaners, industrial facilities, smelters, or former agricultural land.
Negative perceptions of brownfields, along with potential environmental liability concerns, can complicate a community’s redevelopment plans. Local governments encounter brownfields as they plan to revitalize downtowns, make improvements to infrastructure, and redevelop old properties to meet community needs.
Our Brownfields Program helps communities put those properties back into use, so they can bring their redevelopment visions to life.
Map sites that have received public brownfields funding, or look them up with Cleanup and Tank Search: Brownfields sites.
What the Brownfields Program does
Our Brownfields Program works with local governments, non-profits, tribes, and community stakeholders across the state who are interested in cleaning up brownfields for redevelopment. We help them navigate a full range of environmental activities — from environmental assessments and cleanup, to redevelopment planning.
As part of the Brownfields Program, we formed the State Brownfields Team. The team has members from Ecology, the Washington State Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). We work together to promote and support brownfield redevelopment opportunities throughout Washington. We work with communities to provide information, funding resources, technical assistance, and outreach.
Where can I find funding and technical assistance for my brownfield project?
Our State Brownfields Team can help match your project to one or more of the wide range of federal and state funding and technical assistance opportunities. Download Brownfields Funding Opportunities in Washington State for a more comprehensive list.
We conduct outreach through participation in local, regional, and national conferences. Our team can also help you host brownfield workshops focused on a single community or brownfields redevelopment topic.
Ecology can also provide funding to local governments and non-profits for environmental assessments for eligible brownfields using funds from our EPA State Response Program grant.
We provide technical assistance as part of managing cleanups under the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA). This includes providing technical assistance for projects funded by our partners.
The Commerce team manages Washington's Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund (BRLF) Program. The BRLF helps local and regional governments, non-profits, and private businesses cleanup and redevelop brownfield sites. They also provide technical assistance to people interested in redeveloping properties.
The EPA Brownfields Program provides grant funding for brownfields assessment, cleanup, revolving loans, environmental job training, technical assistance, training, and research.
Related links
Contact information
Elaine Heim
Brownfields Program Communications Planner
elaine.heim@ecy.wa.gov
360-584-3750
Tina Hochwender
Brownfields Program Infrastructure Planner
tina.hochwender@ecy.wa.gov
564-669-1915