West Virginia
Brownfields Assistance Program
West Virginia Brownfields Assistance Program
The West Virginia Brownfields Assistance Program is overseen by the Brownfields Section of the Office of Environmental Remediation (OER) at the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP). WVDEP says it provides free guidance and technical assistance throughout the brownfield redevelopment process. Under it sit two things a records review can meet: environmental site assessments that a WVDEP contractor does at no cost, and cleanup loans from the Brownfields Revolving Fund.
In a Phase I ESA
ASTM E1527-21 lists state brownfields sites as a standard source, and the general reading of a brownfields listing is on the Brownfields page. The WVDEP pages read describe guidance, assessments and loans, not a list of brownfield sites, so this handbook does not pair the program with that record type. The West Virginia details are about what may already be in a file.
- An assessment may already exist. OER receives funding through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Brownfields Program to conduct environmental site assessments on properties throughout the state. A WVDEP contractor does the assessment at no cost and OER oversees it. WVDEP says the help is for local government entities and nonprofit organizations, and names Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments, asbestos inspections and lead-based paint inspections. For a property that a city, county or nonprofit has held, ask whether one was done.
- The federal agency assesses sites too. WVDEP describes the Environmental Protection Agency's Targeted Brownfields Assessments, done by that agency's contractor at no cost to selected local governments and nonprofits, with OER providing state-specific guidance.
- A loan site is a voluntary cleanup site. A Brownfields Revolving Fund borrower must enroll the site in the Voluntary Remediation Program, unless the cleanup is limited to asbestos or lead-based paint abatement. Look for the site in that program's public record.
- Loan money does not pay for assessments. WVDEP says the loan funds cannot be used for environmental site assessments, such as a Phase I or Phase II, before cleanup.
Who can borrow
The Brownfields Revolving Fund offers low-interest loans to eligible local government entities, nonprofits and private sector businesses for the cleanup of properties contaminated with petroleum or hazardous substances. The eligibility rules WVDEP states are these:
- the applicant and the property must both meet federal and state eligibility requirements, documented in a Threshold Eligibility Questionnaire before any loan application;
- the fund is not open to parties who caused or contributed to the contamination, or who are delinquent on taxes, loan payments or other indebtedness to the State of West Virginia;
- a site under a federal or state enforcement action is not eligible for cleanup funds;
- a borrower contributes 20 percent of the total loan amount, which may be met with in-kind labor, material or services.
WVDEP says the fund was authorized by the Voluntary Remediation and Redevelopment Act on July 1, 1997, stayed idle for more than 20 years for lack of funding, and was capitalized by a federal grant on October 1, 2016, with a supplemental grant on October 1, 2023.
Where to look a site up
- The pages read post no list of the sites WVDEP has assessed. Site assessment requests go to DEPBrownfieldsAssessment@wv.gov.
- The Brownfields Revolving Fund page lists the recipients of the fund's grants, with the purpose, amount and dates of each. The fund's mailbox is DEPBrownfieldsRevolvingFund@wv.gov.
Getting the file
The Brownfields Revolving Fund page links the agency's Request Information page for a Freedom of Information Act request, which can also be emailed to depfoia@wv.gov. See the Application Enhancer page.
Sources
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection pages, read October 7, 2026, no modified date shown: