EPA Environmental Grants 2026: Clean Air, Water, and Climate Funding

Brownfields Assessment and Cleanup Grants

EPA's Brownfields Program (CFDA 66.818) funds the assessment and cleanup of contaminated properties — former industrial sites, gas stations, dry cleaners, and other properties where redevelopment is hindered by real or perceived environmental contamination. The program has three primary grant types: Assessment Grants ($500,000 per grant, or $650,000 for petroleum-only sites or community-wide assessments) fund Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments; Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) grants ($1 million to $2 million) capitalize revolving loan funds that make cleanup loans to property owners; and Cleanup Grants ($500,000 per site) fund the actual remediation of a specific contaminated property where the applicant owns or controls the property. Coalition grants allow multiple eligible entities to apply jointly for up to five times the individual award ceiling.

Eligible applicants include general purpose governments (cities, counties, tribes), land clearance authorities, redevelopment agencies, and certain nonprofits. The Brownfields program is one of EPA's most popular and oversubscribed programs — competition is strong, and applications require detailed site history, community support documentation, and clear reuse plans. States also receive Brownfields revolving loan fund capitalization grants from EPA, which they then sub-grant to communities. The IRA provided $1.5 billion in additional Brownfields funding, distributed both as direct competitive grants and as enhanced capitalization of state programs. EPA's Brownfields Job Training Grants ($200,000 each) fund nonprofits and local governments to train low-income residents in environmental cleanup and related skills.

Environmental Justice Grants

EPA administers multiple environmental justice (EJ) grant programs targeting communities disproportionately burdened by pollution and environmental hazards. The Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Program (CFDA 66.306) provides grants of up to $1 million to nonprofits and community-based organizations working with underserved communities on local environmental and public health issues using collaborative approaches. The Environmental Justice Small Grants Program (CFDA 66.604) provides up to $75,000 to community-based nonprofits and tribal governments for community-driven environmental justice initiatives, capacity building, and public participation. These small grants are highly accessible and represent one of the few federal programs where small grassroots community organizations can compete effectively.

The IRA created the Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant Program (CFDA 66.614) with $3 billion for community-based organizations, nonprofits, and tribal governments in disadvantaged communities for environmental and climate justice activities including community-led climate resilience projects, pollution monitoring, reduction of indoor air pollutants, climate workforce development, and facilitation of beneficial electrification. Awards range from $100,000 to $15 million and have multi-year performance periods. The EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program (CPRG, funded at $5 billion by the IRA) supports states, cities, counties, and tribes in developing and implementing plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions — Planning Grants (up to $3 million) funded the development of comprehensive climate action plans, and Implementation Grants (up to $500 million for large multi-jurisdictional applications) are funding the actual projects. EPA uses the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) to identify disadvantaged communities prioritized for EJ investments.

Clean Air Act Grant Programs

EPA's Clean Air Act grant programs support state and local air quality programs through Section 105 grants (CFDA 66.034), which provide formula-based funding to state and local air pollution control agencies for operating their air quality monitoring networks, permitting programs, and compliance and enforcement activities. These formula grants are not competitively awarded — eligible state and local air agencies receive annual apportionments. The Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) program (CFDA 66.039) does provide competitive grants of $25,000 to $2 million for projects that reduce diesel emissions from trucks, buses, locomotives, marine vessels, and non-road equipment. Eligible applicants include state and local governments, tribal governments, and nonprofits. The Clean School Bus Program, funded at $5 billion by the IIJA, provided competitive grants and rebates to school districts to replace diesel school buses with zero-emission (electric) or cleaner-burning (propane, natural gas) alternatives. School districts should check EPA's website for current Clean School Bus funding rounds.

Water Quality and Protection Programs

Beyond the State Revolving Funds (covered in our infrastructure grants article), EPA administers several additional water quality grant programs. The Wetlands Program Development Grants (CFDA 66.461) fund state and tribal wetland programs for protection, management, and restoration of wetland resources — awards up to $400,000. The Nonpoint Source Implementation Grants (CFDA 66.460) distribute Section 319 funds to state environmental agencies, which then sub-grant to local governments, soil and water conservation districts, and nonprofits for projects addressing agricultural runoff, urban stormwater, and other nonpoint source pollution. The National Estuary Program (CFDA 66.456) funds Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plans for designated estuaries — 28 estuaries are currently designated, and their management conferences receive ongoing EPA funding to implement local water quality improvements. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI, CFDA 66.469) provides competitive grants of $25,000 to $5 million for projects addressing invasive species, nonpoint source pollution, habitat degradation, and toxics reduction in the Great Lakes basin.

Research and Science Grants

EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) funds environmental science research through several grant programs. The Science to Achieve Results (STAR) research grants (CFDA 66.509, 66.511) fund academic and research institution studies on air quality, water quality, ecosystem services, climate change impacts, human health risk, and environmental justice topics. STAR grants range from $100,000 to $400,000 per year over two to four years and are highly competitive — awarded through a rigorous peer review process. EPA also funds the P3 Award (People, Prosperity, and the Planet, CFDA 66.516) program for student teams at universities developing sustainable solutions to environmental problems. Phase I P3 awards of $15,000 fund project development and presentation at the National Sustainable Design Expo; top Phase I teams compete for Phase II awards of up to $90,000 for further development and implementation. P3 is one of the few EPA programs open to student teams rather than faculty principal investigators.

EPA's National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) connection and Environmental Education (EE) grants (CFDA 66.951) provide up to $100,000 for environmental education projects at K-12 schools, nonprofits, and colleges. Projects must address environmental and conservation topics, develop student environmental literacy, and comply with EPA EE program guidelines. All EPA competitive grant opportunities are posted on grants.gov and EPA's Grants and Debarment website (epa.gov/grants). Organizations new to federal grant applications should review EPA's "How to Apply for an EPA Grant" guidance, which walks through registration requirements (SAM.gov, grants.gov, epa.gov grants portal) and common application components. EPA Regional Offices (10 regions) each manage their own competitive grant portfolios in addition to national programs — checking with your EPA Region for regionally-managed opportunities is a useful supplementary strategy.