2026 Virginia Brownfields Conference

Representatives from EPA will provide an update and overview of anticipated Brownfileds funding for the FY27 soliciation including Community-wide Assessment, Multipurpose, Revolving Loan Fund, and Clean-up (MARC) grants along with the Brownfield Job Training Grant opportunity. EPA will also highlight other Brownfields resources that may be available for either project specific or community wide Brownfields work including: TBAs, LRTA, TAG, RERC, TAB. To round out the information, we will highlight a RLF Success Story: City of Atlanta Georgia's 17-year old EPA Brownfield Revolving Loan Program as an exple that demonstrates how communities can use EPA RLF Grants to facilitate/catalyze community-driven redevelopment through low interest loans to developers and sub-grants to non-profits.

Brownfields grants are often the first dollars available for site environmental assessment and initial reuse planning. Communities still need capital to prepare sites for reuse, attract investment, and bring redevelopment visions to life. This session dives into some of the powerful state funding options available once the Brownfields work is done. We'll highlight Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) programs that can support community revitalization, infrastructure improvements, and building reuse. The Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission with discuss funding available for site development, access imprvoement, and economic development projects accross eligible localities. Attendees will walk away with a clear roadmap for stacking and sequencing these resources to move sites toward realized redevelopment. This session will also provide an update to the state Brownfield grant, Virginia Brownfields Restoration and Economic Redevelopment Fund (VBAF).

Brownfields "Educational" Session - Reuse of Old School Buildings. This session shares case studies showing how communities turned vacant or underused school buildings into vibrant assets by leveraging EPA Brownfields resources. We’ll walk through how Assessment and Cleanup funds addressed legacy hazards (e.g., asbestos/lead, tanks, moisture and vapor issues), how Alternatives Analyses and community engagement shaped feasible reuse concepts, and how cleanup was sequenced to protect the community and speed construction. You’ll see what Brownfields dollars can and can’t pay for, how to document site eligibility and ownership, and how to stack additional financing (e.g., tax credits, grants, state funds) once environmental risks are managed.

The Mary E. Branch School has a layered history tied closely to African American education, segregation, and civil rights in Farmville, Virginia. The building began as the Farmville Colored School in 1926 and was ultimately renamed the Mary E. Branch School in 1939 to honor a pioneering Black educator. The story behind the schools history plays a central role in the desire to reuse the building as a community space. Brownfields fundings has been utilized to address asbestos containing materials, impacts from potential former boiler systems, and reuse planning.

This session will discuss both preventative and remedial strategies that local governments can use to address vacant, dilapidated, or contaminated commercial, industrial, and brownfield properties. A series of educational materials is being developed through a partnership between VDEQ, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ( Mid-Atlantic Technical Assistance to Brownfields (EPA-TAB) program, the Brownfields Assistance Center, and the Land Use Law Clinic at West Virginia University. Topics for technical assistance will include, but are not limited to, vacant property registration programs, nuisance ordinances, site control, and zoning. The session will highlight success stories and lessons learned during the development of these materials.