Brownfields | Virginia DEQ

A brownfield is a property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. These can be large industrial sites, smaller commercial properties, or mixed-use buildings along a Main Street corridor, among others. There are Brownfield sites all across Virginia and these properties represent an opportunity for reinvestment that leads to increased local tax bases and job growth while utilizing existing infrastructure, preserving undeveloped land, and protecting and enhancing the environment of Virginia in order to promote the health and well-being of its citizens.

Cleaning up and reinvesting in these properties utilizes existing infrastructure, reduces development of undisturbed open land, facilitates job growth, increases local tax bases and improves community aesthetics while protecting the environment.

Virginia DEQ's Brownfields Program

Many of these brownfield sites represent a great opportunity for redevelopment, but barriers exist that limit action. The Virginia Brownfields Restoration and Renewal Land Renewal Act (§ 10.1-1231) states that “It shall be the policy of the Commonwealth to encourage remediation and restoration of brownfields by removing barriers and providing incentives and assistance whenever possible.” Virginia DEQ’s Brownfields Program was established to provide technical assistance and help identify ways to remove barriers to brownfields investment in communities across the Commonwealth.

Some of the ways the Brownfields Team assists in this effort include:

On-call guidance to discuss site-specific project needs including identification or navigation of funding opportunities.
Outreach and education through conference presentations, in person or virtual meetings (as requested), training workshops, council or community presentations, outreach with academic institutions, etc.
Hosting an annual Brownfields Conference.
Development of tools and informational resources.
Grant award and oversight representation for the Virginia Brownfields Restoration and Economic Redevelopment Assistance Fund (VBAF).
Preparation of Brownfield concurrence letters.
Providing letters of support for other grant requests.
Issuance of Bona Fide Prospective Purchase (BFPP) and other “comfort letters”.
Participation in focus groups and technical advisory groups.
Management of statewide Brownfield grant funds.
Collaboration with other DEQ programs where applicable for site assessment and redevelopment planning.

Virginia DEQ’s Brownfield team works closely with EPA’s Region III Brownfields Team and West Virginia’s Brownfields Assistance Center who serves as the EPA Region III Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) to stay abreast of federal initiatives and potential federal Brownfield funding opportunities. In addition, the team meets routinely with other state agencies and funding groups for project collaboration and awareness of different funding opportunities that may be available to help realize Brownfields redevelopment goals. Some examples include Virginia Energy, Virginia Economic Development Partnership (including VBAF and Virginia Business Ready Sites Program), Virginia Main Street, Department of Housing and Community Development – Industrial Revitalization Fund (IRF), Virginia Tobacco Commission Revitalization Commission, Opportunity Appalachia, among others.

Additional information on DEQ’s Brownfields program is below. Many programs are enrolled in DEQ's Voluntary Remediation Program. If you’d like to initiate a site-specific or community-wide conversation, please use the Brownfields Help Wanted form and we will follow up as soon as possible.

Special Projects

Virginia DEQ’s VRP and Brownfields Team are always looking for ways to continuously improve our program and achieve the goals associated with our work at DEQ. Some completed and ongoing actions include:

Small community inventory and redevelopment prioritization assistance.
Economic Impact Analysis of VBAF grant awards (published May 2025).
Long-Term Stewardship evaluations of completed VRP sites.
Site-specific quantitative human-health risk assessment, as needed.
White Paper regarding the VRP process and orchard sites in Virginia (in development).
Legal Toolkit for Addressing Brownfield Properties (in development).
Updates to Success Story GIS Portal (in development).
Updates to the Brownfields Dashboard (in development).

Program Highlights

Economic Impact Analysis

The Virginia Brownfields Restoration and Economic Redevelopment Assistance Fund (VBAF) serves as a critical resource for communities across the State of Virginia by playing a key role in positioning sites for constructive reuse, and generating outcomes that advance state and program objectives.

In 2024, Virginia DEQ contracted with Stantec to conduct an Economic Impact Analysis of the first 10 years of VBAF grant funding. The purpose of this study is to review the large body of grant-funded investments that have been made through the VBAF program, and evaluate their impacts on local communities. The primary lens of the analysis is economic. It offers data, analysis and perspectives on the economic impact of the VBAF program since its inception.

The findings of this analysis highlight the benefits of critical early investment in brownfields redevelopment. The final report can be viewed here.

Virginia Brownfields Conference - Staunton 2026

Each year, Virginia DEQ’s VRP and Brownfields team hosts a conference that includes mobile workshops, project highlights, and technical sessions relevant to Brownfields work in Virginia and beyond. This effort is generally a collaboration with the EPA Region III Brownfields team and the host city where the conference will be held.

The 2026 Virginia Brownfields Conference will be held in Staunton, Virginia during the summer of 2026. Conference planning is underway with final dates to be announced in the near future.

A huge thank you to Hopewell for hosting the 2025 Brownfields Symposium in April!

Voluntary Remediation Program

Virginia Brownfields Restoration and Economic Redevelopment Assistance Fund (VBAF)

Per the Code of Virginia, the Commonwealth's policy is to encourage remediation and restoration of brownfields by removing barriers and providing incentives and assistance whenever possible. The Virginia Brownfields Restoration and Economic Redevelopment Assistance Fund (VBAF) was established as an incentive program to promote and support site assessment, redevelopment planning, and clean up of Brownfield sites across the commonwealth. The grant is administered by the Virginia Economic Development Authority (VEDP) in collaboration with Virginia DEQ.

$2.25M was funded by the general assembly for FY26. The fund offers two types of grants:

Assessment & Planning

Awards up to $50,000

Rolling Application Submittals

1:1 Match

Site Remediation

Awards up to $500,000

Competitive Process -

Applications Open September 1, 2025 - October 17, 2025

1:1 Match

The VBAF Program is targeted toward projects or phases of work associated with the restoration and redevelopment of brownfield sites that by their completion will generate additional private investment and job creation in the immediate future and reviewed based on:

Potential for redevelopment and reuse of the site,
Economic benefits,
Environmental benefits,
Use or reuse of existing infrastructure, and
Limited ability to draw on other funding sources.

Current guidelines that outline eligibility and the grant application forms are available on the VEDP VBAF page.

Contact Karen Weber, DEQ (karen.weber@deq.virginia.gov) or Michelle Mende, VEDP (mmende@vedp.org) for more information.

Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser (BFPP)

Virginia DEQ issues Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser (BFPP) and other “Comfort Letters” for properties after a review of due diligence documentation. The BFPP Application is available to view. Applicants must provide completed applications including full Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments for review. Applicants should plan for a 60-day turnaround in the review and development of comfort letters. Additional information related to this process is outlined below.

The Brownfields Restoration and Land Renewal Act continues to provide liability defense for prospective purchasers and other entities should they meet the requirements of the statute. These protections are self-implementing insofar as DEQ is not required confer protections to a prospective purchaser. The comfort letters are simply concurrence that the prospective purchaser may make an affirmative defense, which is not a requirement in making the enabled defense as long as the requirements of the statute are met.

Virginia Code § 10.1-1234. Limitations on liability in section B. states “A bona fide prospective purchaser shall not be held liable for a containment or cleanup that may be required at a brownfield site pursuant to the Virginia Waste Management Act (§ 10.1-1400 et seq.), the State Water Control Law (§ 62.1-44.2 et seq.), or the State Air Pollution Control Law (§ 10.1-1300 et seq.) if (i) the person did not cause, contribute, or consent to the release or threatened release, (ii) the person is not liable or potentially liable through any direct or indirect familial relationship or any contractual, corporate, or financial relationship or is not the result of a reorganization of a business entity that was potentially liable, (iii) the person exercises appropriate care with respect to hazardous substances found at the facility by taking reasonable steps to stop any continuing release, prevent any threatened future release, and prevent or limit human, environmental, or natural resource exposure to any previously released hazardous substances, and (iv) the person does not impede the performance of any response action. These provisions shall not apply to sites subject to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (42 U.S.C. § 6901 et seq.).

Please submit applications and supporting documentation to kimberly.bryant@deq.virginia.gov.

Brownfields Success Stories in Virginia

There are Brownfield champions everywhere who are doing great work toward realizing reuse and redevelopment of Brownfield properties across the commonwealth. DEQ works closely with property owners, local and regional stakeholders, and site developers to help transform these contaminated properties into viable real estate by promoting cost saving measures, helping to identify funding opportunities, and navigating innovative approaches to resolving brownfield issues. DEQ developed a GIS platform to highlight some of this work both ongoing and completed.

We are in the process of updating the Brownfields Interactive Storymap to highlight current Brownfield successes. Please check back often to keep tabs on new and ongoing Brownfields project work.

We would like to invite you to share your success story for consideration using this survey link: https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/f0ae4d3d28324a8c845daf605eaaefde.

Please reach out to Karen Weber (karen.weber@deq.virginia.gov) if you have any questions.

Brownfields Dashboard

The Virginia Brownfields Dashboard was developed in collaboration with the Virginia Department of Energy (Virginia Energy). It is intended to assist in identification of Brownfield sites including previously mined lands and their relationship to features such as transmission lines and other infrastructure that may be useful in making redevelopment decisions. Updates to the dashboard are underway.