Resources

Funding Resources

Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) - Green Municipal Fund (GMF)

The GMF provides grants of up to $175,000 to support community brownfield action plans, environmental site assessments and field tests. Low-interest loans are available for site remediation, risk management and interim use projects. A combination of grants and loans is also available to support eligible capital projects.

Funding is available for municipalities as well as municipally owned corporations and private sector companies that have a formal partnership in place with a municipality.

Visit the GMF webpage for more details on how to access funding.

Government of Alberta - Municipal Sustainability Initiative

Brownfield related initiatives are eligible for funding under the MSI, which the Government of Alberta provides to support local infrastructure priorities.

Under the MSI operating program, study and planning grants are available for the creation of municipal development plans, area redevelopment plans, sustainability plans and land use and development plans, including related feasibility studies and environmental site and risk assessments.

The MSI capital program is available for project costs that result in, or directly relate to and support the acquisition, construction, development, betterment, rehabilitation or non-routine maintenance of a municipal capital asset. This could include the development of plans, including brownfield improvement plans and feasibility studies, when the purpose is to maintain the land for municipal services. In addition, MSI capital funding can be used for reclamation, rehabilitation, and betterment activities that involve municipally-owned assets or land. This includes the removal of pollution or contaminants from land necessary for the mitigation of impacts to capital infrastructure.

Visit Municipal Affair’s website for guidelines and application forms.

Are you aware of other funding sources that can support brownfield redevelopment projects? If so, contact advocacy [at] abmunis.ca (Alberta Municipalities' Advocacy department) so that this information can be shared with other municipalities.

Information Resources

Canadian Brownfields Network (CBN)

The CBN is a knowledge-based national network of multidisciplinary industry professionals focused on uncovering, understanding and sharing information on brownfield barriers and solutions.  It hosts an annual conference to facilitate networking and sharing of information, conducts advocacy and outreach, and celebrates achievement in brownfield redevelopment through its awards programs.

Canadian Fuels Association

The Canadian Fuels Association is an industry association representing petroleum refiners and marketers in Canada.  Its members include.

  • Chevron Canada Limited
  • Federated Co-operatives Limited
  • Husky Energy Inc.
  • Imperial Oil Limited
  • Irving Oil
  • North Atlantic Refining Limited
  • North West Redwater Partnership
  • Parkland Fuel Corporation
  • Shell Canada Products
  • Suncor Energy Products Partnership

The CFA works with provincial and municipal governments and advocates for technically defensible, science-based and cost-effective approaches to remediate contaminated sites and return these sites to productive use.  CFA encourages partnerships between member companies and municipalities on solutions to address former fuel sites.

Federation of Canadian Municipalities - Green Municipal Fund

The GMF provides a wide variety of knowledge resources to advance brownfield redevelopment.

These include:

  • Leadership in Brownfield Redevelopment Network to connect municipal practitioners and help them develop knowledge and skills to better facilitate brownfield redevelopment. The network includes a number of Alberta municipalities and is accepting more members. A series of guidebooks and resources are available to support LiBRe members through each step of the program.
  • Case Studies on how municipalities across Canada developed and implemented their brownfield initiatives.
  • Brownfield Roadmaps to help municipalities and their private-sector partners better understand how to redevelop brownfields in their communities.
  • Webinars to provide an interactive web-forum on a range of brownfield topics.
  • Sustainable Communities Awards to celebrate best practices in municipal sustainability, including brownfield redevelopment.

Government of Alberta - Alberta Environment and Parks

The province indicates that it is committed to providing policies and tools to create a more efficient path forward for brownfield redevelopment.

These include:

  • Contaminated Sites Policy Framework provides information on the policies and regulations that must be followed in managing contaminated land.
  • Environmental Site Assessment Standard provides minimum requirements for Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) site characterization and reporting at contaminated or potentially contaminated sites in Alberta. 
  • Environmental Site Assessment Repository (ESAR)  is an online, searchable database that provides scientific and technical information about assessed and/or reclaimed sites throughout Alberta.
  • Exposure Control Guide – outlines the requirements for risk management of contaminated sites using the exposure control option outlined in the contaminated sites policy framework. 
  • Remediation Certificate Program – provides information on how to obtain remediation certificates, which officially recognize remediation projects that have achieved the department's environmental protection objectives. 

Government of Canada

The Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan (FCSAP) is a 15-year program that was established in 2005 with funding of $3.5 billion from the Government of Canada.

The primary objective of the program is to reduce environmental and human health risks from known federal contaminated sites and associated federal financial liabilities.

It includes an inventory that lists over 21,000 federal sites. This number includes confirmed contaminated sites, suspected contaminated sites, and about 9,000 "closed" sites where remediation was either completed or not required.

In addition, the FCSAP program is encouraging Canada’s environmental industry to develop innovative and sustainable remediation technologies and approaches.

Are you aware of other resources that can support brownfield redevelopment projects? If so, contact advocacy [at] abmunis.ca (Alberta Municipalities' Advocacy department) so that this information can be shared with other municipalities.