How could our Brownfields program help your community?

Travel through a community of any size and you’re likely to see old gas stations, shuttered industrial facilities, or former farms – all of which may have environmental contamination. These abandoned or underutilized properties are known as brownfields. Our Brownfields Program helps put them back into use, allowing communities to bring their redevelopment visions to life.

Remediation realized

Ecology works with local governments, non-profits, tribes, and community stakeholders across Washington who are interested in cleaning up brownfields. We can help match your project to one or more of the wide range of federal and state funding and technical assistance opportunities.

Need inspiration to get your brownfield project going? Watch Palouse Mayor Michael Echanove share how his city partnered with Ecology and others to clean up the abandoned, contaminated Palouse Producers property on their main street:



Have a project of your own in mind? We invite you to join our Washington-Brownfields email list to receive updates about our efforts to support communities with redevelopment.

Learn more online

Following on the success of our 2019 Washington State Brownfields Conference, our updated brownfields website includes more information about funding opportunities, how to locate brownfield properties in your community, and access to print materials and presentations from the conference.

If you missed the conference, visit the Center for Creative Land Recycling blog, where they recapped the highlights in their “Brownfield Spotlight in Spokane” June 6 post. Big thanks to the Northwest Environmental Business Council and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as well as to our sponsors, session presenters, and attendees for bringing your knowledge and interest to this important topic! We’ll use feedback received on the follow-up survey to plan future conferences and workshops.

Upcoming events

• Infrastructure Assistance Coordinating Council Conference; October 22–24, 2019; Wenatchee, WA. Come see us; we’re presenting at a few sessions!
• Brownfields 2019: Sustainable Communities Start Here; December 11–13, 2019; Los Angeles, CA
• Stay tuned for information on the spring 2020 Oregon Brownfields Conference. 2018 conference materials are available.

Register soon: Brownfields Conference room rate ending April 25

If you’re interested in learning about cleaning up and redeveloping properties with suspected or known contamination, please join us for the FREE Washington State Brownfields Conference in Spokane May 28 – 30, 2019. A block of rooms has been reserved at the Doubletree by Hilton Spokane City Center. The special room rate will be available until April 25, or until the group block is sold-out, whichever comes first. The guest list is growing and the cut off for getting the conference rate on hotel rooms is fast approaching, so register and reserve a room before it’s too late!

The goal of this conference is to bring together public and private sector stakeholders and tribes in Washington and the Inland Northwest. This event is being coordinated in partnership with the Northwest Environmental Business Council and is funded in part by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. We also want to thank the following event sponsors for their support:

• GeoSearch
• Hart Crowser
• Maul Foster Alongi
• PBS
• Restorical Research
• Spokane Environmental Solutions
• Stantec
• TSI

Please visit our conference web page to learn more and download the draft agenda. We hope to see you there! If you have questions, please contact Ali Furmall, office: 509-329-3436, cell: 509-655-0538.

Money available for residents to take part in Ecology projects

Groups and individuals in highly impacted or low-income areas encouraged to apply 

Whether we’re leading the cleanup of an industrial property or implementing a project that will reduce the use of single-use plastics, acting locally and engaging your government in public processes during ongoing projects such as these is one of the most important things you can do to effect change. For Washington residents who live or work in low-income communities, or those highly impacted by contaminated sites, the importance of participation only rises because public participation in the work we do at the Washington Department of Ecology is vital for success.

Public Participation Grants are available to help individuals and groups participate in Ecology projects across the state. Groups and individuals in highly impacted and low-income communities are encouraged to apply. The PPG awarded to
Columbia Springs supported a waste reduction project repairing household items rather than throwing them away.

Ecology is currently accepting applications for Public Participation Grants (PPG). The PPG program is a competitive grant program. Grants are available to individuals affected by a contaminated site, or to non-profit public service organizations. The purpose of the grants is to facilitate public participation in:

           •The cleanup of hazardous substance release sites, or
           •The implementation of the state’s solid and hazardous waste priorities.

Applications are available through Ecology’s Administration of Grants and Loans (EAGL) online grant management system.  You will need to set up a Secure Access Washington (SAW) account before you can access EAGL.

The application will be open until 5 p.m. April 4, 2019. Late applications will not be accepted. Ecology will evaluate and score each eligible application received. Grant funds are available for projects conducted July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2021.

Application instructions can be found in Appendix B of the program guidelines. Summaries of the guidelines are available in Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese, and Chinese.

For more information, please contact Lynn Gooding at (360) 407-6062.