Brownfields Reauthorization Act of 2025

H.R. 6432 would reauthorize the Environmental Protection Agency's Brownfields Program, which provides federal financial assistance to clean up and redevelop abandoned or underutilized properties contaminated by industrial or commercial use. The bill would extend the program's authorization through fiscal year 2030 and make several changes to improve access for smaller and underserved communities. These changes would include doubling the maximum cleanup grant from $500,000 to $1 million per site, reducing the local cost-sharing requirement from 20 percent to 10 percent, providing cost-share waivers for small and disadvantaged communities, and streamlining the application process. The bill would also expand the types of organizations eligible to apply for grants to include business leagues and chambers of commerce, in addition to existing nonprofit organizations.

Brownfields are typically abandoned or underutilized industrial and commercial properties like former gas stations, dry cleaning facilities, or factories where environmental contamination prevents redevelopment. If enacted, this bill would aim to make it easier and more affordable for communities to remediate these sites and transform them into productive uses such as parks, businesses, or housing. The bill is currently under consideration in the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment and has not yet been voted on by the full House.