Category: Community Development

Brownfields Assessment Grant programs have always been highly competitive due to limited funding. However, the Environmental Protection Agency has significantly increased the amount of grant funding available for 2022, creating more opportunity for projects. There has never been a better time for communities to apply for brownfields project grant funding. There will be a presentation at our board meeting on June 16th with more details on program requirements.

About Brownfields Assessment Grants 

Assessment Grants provide funding for a grant recipient to inventory, characterize, assess, conduct a range of planning activities. Activities may include the development of site-specific clean-up plans, and the organization of community involvement related to brownfield sites. 

There are two main types of Assessment Grants:

• Community-Wide Assessment Grants 
• Site-Specific Assessment Grants

Community-wide Assessment Grants

A Community-wide Assessment Grant is appropriate when a specific site is not identified and the applicant plans to spend grant funds on more than one brownfield site in its community.

An applicant may request up to $500,000 to assess sites contaminated by hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants (including hazardous substances co-mingled with petroleum), and/or petroleum. The performance period for these grants is three years.

Site-Specific Assessment Grants

When a single site is identified and the applicant plans to only spend grant funds on the designated “site,” a Site-Specific Assessment Grant is the appropriate course of action. 

In these instances, an applicant may request up to $200,000 to assess a site contaminated by hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants (including hazardous substances co-mingled with petroleum), and/or petroleum.

An applicant may seek a waiver of the $200,000 limit and request up to $350,000 for a site contaminated by hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants, and/or petroleum. Waiver requests must be based on the anticipated level of contamination, size, or status of ownership of the site. The performance period for these grants is three years.

Resources

For more information on available funding for these programs, visit the EPA Brownfields Assessment Program webpage. As always, Region 3A is available as a resource for questions about the application process.

Region 3-A is pleased to announce our participation in the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center Inc’s (NIIC’s) “Northeast Indiana Adaptive Community Navigator” project.

WHAT IS THE COMMUNITY NAVIGATOR PROJECT? 

The program, established by the American Rescue Plan Act  of 2021, will use a community navigator approach to help small businesses, with a focus on those owned by veterans, women, and socially and economically disadvantaged individuals – including in rural and urban  communities. 

The program consists of a lead “Hub” at the center of a  network of “Spoke” organizations that deploy community advocates to work  with small businesses during economic recovery. Recovery services can  include financial assistance, access to capital supports, contracting and  procurement assistance, marketing, operations, and business development, export and importing, and industry specific training, among other areas of  technical assistance to aid businesses in stabilization and expansion. 

OUR ROLE

COMMUNITY BENEFIT

This project is a particularly good fit for this time of crisis in Northeast Indiana and the NIIC’s Adaptive Community Navigator process and toolset for use via Trusted Connectors is a proven way to reach business builders that haven’t been reached before.

The NIIC’s understands the needs of the underserved small business owners in our region, particularly as many of their businesses have been impacted by the pandemic and are now looking to reemerge. In most cases, these needs go far beyond simple quick fixes and money. 

Region 3A is excited to be part of this effort and is now accepting referrals for entrepreneurs and businesses which could benefit from this program. Contact us today for more information on how to get involved!

American Rescue Plan project funding is a topic of discussion and uncertainty for many communities across the country. Current guidelines have many projects have been put on hold as communities experience delays due to restrictions and questioning qualifications for funding. 

Recently, the Senate has unanimously passed the “State, Local, Tribal and Territorial Fiscal Recovery, Infrastructure, and Disaster Relief Flexibility Act” (S. 3011/H.R. 5735). This has now moved to The U.S. House for voting.

Information from the National Association of Counties (NACo) outlines that the Senate-passed legislation can impact America’s counties in three major ways: 

S. 3011: State, Local, Tribal and Territorial Fiscal Recovery, Infrastructure, and Disaster Relief Flexibility ActFor America’s counties, enactment of S. 3011 would mean:

S. 3011 AT A GLANCE

The legislation would also allow counties to flexibly invest Recovery Funds into projects that are eligible under the Community Development Block Grant:

As always, Region 3A is here to assist your community with planning projects that can move our area forward. If you would like to learn more about eligible ARP project funding and how it can be paired with other funding sources, contact us today.

Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) recently announced a new program aiming to help more Hoosiers get access to reliable and quality broadband. The Indiana Connectivity Program will assist qualifying residents and businesses that lack access to broadband internet service with service providers and assist in the expense of extending broadband to those locations. This is an excellent opportunity for underserved residents and businesses in our region to get reliable broadband access.

Program Details

The program applies to residential and business locations that are unserved or underserved. Underserved locations are defined as having access to actual speeds less than 25Mbps download and 3Mbps upload. Applications for consideration can be submitted by entering information into the Next Level Connections portal to indicate interest in receiving broadband internet service. 

Internet Service Providers will have the opportunity to review these locations and submit bids to the state on the cost of providing service to these locations. OCRA will evaluate these bids and make awards to the providers whose bid presents the lowest cost to the state for extension of the service. 

Inputting location information into the Next Level Connections portal does not guarantee extension of service. 

Funding Information

Next Level Connections Broadband Programs have been allocated $270 million in total. The Indiana Connectivity Program is included as part of this larger program. Limits per line extension are set by Indiana Code including a per line extension amount that cannot exceed $25,000 and a per passing amount that cannot exceed $4,800. 

Timeline 

The Indiana Connectivity Program and Next Level Connections online portal will open on Monday Sept. 27, 2021. The bidding and challenge processes must take place before awards can be made. Once made, projects must be completed within 9 months of the contract date. 

Assistance 

Region 3A is proud to be a resource for our area residents and businesses who require reliable internet access. If you need assistance with application or have questions about this program please contact us at region3a@region3a.org. 

Additional Program Information 

For more information or questions on the Indiana Connectivity Program, please visit in.gov/ocra/broadband/ or call 833-639-8522. 

WWW.IN.GOV/OCRA/BROADBAND

On March 11th, the American Rescue Plan Act, a $1.9 trillion package designed to mitigate the economic effects of COVID-19 was signed. Part of this package is a $350 billion in direct aid to state and local governments. In Indiana, the state will receive $3.2B, and local governments will receive a total of 2.6B. 

Unlike the prior CARES Act dollars, which was made available to local governments at the State’s discretion, the ARP aid will be a mandatory distribution. 

The American Rescue Plan Act: Northeast Indiana 

So what does this mean for our area? Local governments will be receiving funding that is expected to be distributed around mid-May. Qualifications for use of the funding are fairly broad in order to assist their local citizens and businesses that were impacted by COVID-19. Local governments are receiving funding which will allow the money to be used in ways which will directly impact the community.

American Rescue Plan Community Impact Meeting

Region 3A will be hosting a virtual call Friday April 23rd at 10AM for project ideas, questions and regional community discussion. The call will include a representative from Baker Tilly who will be able to discuss which community projects are eligible for ARP Act funding. Community participation is encouraged as we move toward relief in our area. Here, we can get an understanding of what issues are specific to our community and prioritize funding and projects. 

General Meeting Items

• How will ARP funds be distributed?
• When will ARP funds be distributed?
• How may ARP funds be used?
• What time period does the ARP cover?
• Community Q&A

Region 3A is committed to assisting the Northeast Indiana community in COVID-19 recovery projects and programs. If you are not on our mailing list and would like to attend this meeting, contact us at region3a@region3a.org for virtual meeting details.