Brownfield Redevelopment Area Grant (BRAG)
Brownfield Redevelopment Area Grant (BRAG) supports Tennessee communities with site inventories, planning, environmental assessments, cleanup, and monitoring to prepare brownfields for redevelopment.
Funder: Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
Due Dates: December 1, 2026 (Current cycle deadline) | Spring 2027 (Next cycle opens)
Funding Amounts: $20,000–$500,000 maximum per category, over 12–24 months; $500,000 fiscal-year cap per entity
Summary: BRAG supports Tennessee communities in identifying, planning for, assessing, cleaning up, and closing brownfield sites for redevelopment.
Key Information: Only Tennessee political subdivisions are eligible; nonprofits cannot receive funds directly.
Description
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) administers BRAG through its Division of Remediation, now part of the Division of Land Protection. Authorized through the Rural Brownfields Investment Act, the program encourages environmentally sound redevelopment of properties affected by real or perceived contamination. Reusing developed sites helps conserve Tennessee’s agricultural, recreational, and open-space lands while supporting economic and community redevelopment.
The program funds five stages of brownfield work: site inventories, actionable redevelopment planning, environmental assessments, remediation, and post-remediation monitoring. Supported work includes Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments, cleanup alternatives analysis, contaminant containment or removal, and demolition necessary for remediation. Remedial closure funding supports monitoring needed to achieve NFA or NLUR letters. TDEC also seeks balanced statewide access to funding.
