Pallone Joins Relaunch of Brownfields Development Assistance Program for New Jersey Municipalities

Sayreville, NJ – RealEstateRama – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) joined a press conference today to announce the relaunch of the Brownfields Development Assistance Program for New Jersey municipalities. Pallone authored the bipartisan bill that created the Brownfields program in 2002. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that Congress passed and President Biden signed into law injected $1.5 billion nationwide into the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Brownfields program to help communities clean up contaminated industrial sites and turn the spaces into parks, housing developments, or new businesses.

In September, the Biden Administration announced $235 million in grants from the law 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 help transform what were once polluted, vacant, and abandoned properties into community assets while spurring economic revitalization in underserved communities.

“It’s great to be in Sayreville today for the relaunch of the Brownfields Development Assistance Program. Together with this program and the funding I included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, communities across New Jersey will be able to repurpose the land and return it to good use. The relaunch of this program will help build on our progress across New Jersey to clean up and revitalize these contaminated sites so we can generate new jobs and economic opportunities,” Pallone said. “I’m grateful to everyone who joined us today, including Commissioner LaTourette and Speaker Coughlin. I’ll keep fighting to ensure every community – particularly those that have been historically overlooked and underserved – receives the resources they need.”

In 2022, Pallone announced that New Jersey received $6.5 million to clean up Brownfield sites through the first round of funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, including:

• $2 million for the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) for Perth Amboy, Atlantic City, Bridgeton, Jersey City, Millville, Paterson, and Trenton
• $500,000 for Asbury Park
• $3.5 million for the Camden Redevelopment Agency
• $500,000 for Hamilton Township

Pallone has been a longtime advocate for the Brownfields program. In 2018, his bipartisan bill to reauthorize the program was passed in a federal spending bill and provided more flexibility for states and non-profits to clean up Brownfield sites. Last month, Pallone held a hearing on the program in his Energy and Commerce Committee and heard directly from local leaders, including the Mayor of Elizabeth, New Jersey, about the Brownfields program and how more funding and flexibility continues to help communities restore public health and restore economic prosperity.