ACRES Frequently Asked Questions

I forgot my User ID and Password, what do I do?

Click the “Forgot your username or password?” link located on the ACRES login screen. This will redirect you to the EPA Web Application Access page. Click the “Forgot your username or password?” link on this page and follow the instructions. If you need further assistance, contact the ACRES Help Desk at [email protected] or 703-284-8212.

Why do I need to create a new password each time I log into ACRES?

As required by the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002, passwords for accessing applications such as ACRES (i.e., all electronic accounts with federal agencies) are set to expire every three months (90 days).

I submitted an ACRES property work package for Regional Review, but later received updated/additional information. Can I “take back” that work package?

No. Once you submit a work package for Regional Review, you cannot “take back” the work package without assistance from a Brownfields Program representative in your EPA regional office. To make changes, please contact your Regional Project Officer and have them return the work package for clarification. Note that a work package with any status other than Ready for Regional Review or Regional Review cannot be sent back to you for clarification by the Regional representative.

I want to make changes to a property, but the property work package is “locked.” What does “locked” mean?

A “locked” work package means that a work package is being edited by another user, because only one user can edit a work package at a time. You can submit as many work packages as needed for a property, just not at the same time. Contact a Brownfields Program representative in your EPA regional office if you need to edit information in a property work package that you cannot access.

How many property work packages can I create in ACRES over the lifetime of our grant?

As many as needed, but only one work package per property can be open in ACRES at the same time. Once you have created a property work package and submitted it for Regional Review, that property work package is “locked” and cannot be edited until it has been approved or sent back to you for clarification.

I currently have an EPA Brownfields Cooperative Agreement. Why can’t I access our Pilot records in ACRES?

Pilots are not eligible for data entry via ACRES by recipients. Contact a Brownfields Program representative in your EPA regional office for more information about properties that benefited from Pilot funding activities.

Who do I contact with questions about ACRES?

• Contact the ACRES Help Desk at [email protected] or 703-284-8212.
• Use the ACRES Help function.
• Reference ACRES Training, Tips and Tools
• Contact a Brownfields Program representative in your EPA regional office.

Who do I contact with a data question specific to our cooperative agreement?

• Reference ACRES Training, Tips and Tools
• Contact a Brownfields Program representative in your EPA regional office.

What is a Property Profile Form and what information is required?

The Property Profile Form (PPF) is the official reporting form (Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Form 2050-0192) for the Brownfields Program created by EPA and approved by OMB. All Brownfields cooperative agreement recipients must use ACRES to develop and regularly maintain all four sections of the PPF for each property addressed in the agreement. As specified in the cooperative agreement Terms and Conditions, all cooperative agreement recipients must report to EPA as soon as an accomplishment has occurred.

Each PPF contains information related only to a specific property targeted by the cooperative agreement recipient. Progress Reports should not contain property-specific information except to identify area-wide or regional redevelopment projects and their relationship to one or more targeted properties.

Contact a Brownfields Program representative in your EPA regional office with any questions about the form.

When do I submit a PPF, and how often do I need to update ACRES?

The cooperative agreement recipient must submit a PPF when it starts using EPA funds at an eligible property:

• Assessment Cooperative Agreements – typically when an assessment begins at an eligible property
• Cleanup Cooperative Agreements – typically the first or second quarter of the cooperative agreement period, when funds are first spent on an eligible property
• RLF Cooperative Agreements – typically when a subgrant or loan package is completed for an eligible property
• TBA Cooperative Agreements – typically when an assessment begins at an eligible property
• State and Tribal Voluntary Response Program Cooperative Agreements – typically when funds are used toward an assessment or cleanup activities at an eligible property

PPFs must be updated via ACRES as activities (e.g., assessment, cleanup, redevelopment) and accomplishments occur (e.g., cleanup completed, redevelopment underway, significant leveraged funding committed), and then submitted online when available or along with the next required Progress Report.

In addition, a PPF should be updated as the property background information changes or if there is other anecdotal information or successes that the recipient wants to share with EPA.

Cooperative agreement recipients also should revise and submit an updated PPF via ACRES for all targeted properties when closing out the cooperative agreement.

Contact a Brownfields Program representative in your EPA regional office with any questions.

How does EPA define an assessment, cleanup or leveraged accomplishments?

An assessment accomplishment is a property at which a Phase I or Phase II Environmental Assessment, a supplemental environmental assessment or a cleanup plan was completed using Brownfields funds.

A cleanup accomplishment is reached when one of the following conditions occurs:

• A “clean” or “no further action” letter or its equivalent has been issued by the state or tribe under its voluntary response program or its equivalent for cleanup activities at the property.
• The cooperative agreement recipient or property owner, upon the recommendation of an environmental professional, has determined and documented that on-property work is finished. Ongoing operations and maintenance activities or monitoring may continue after a cleanup completion designation has been made.

Leveraged accomplishments are divided into two main categories: jobs leveraged and dollars leveraged. Jobs leveraged are divided into two subcategories:

• Number of Cleanup Jobs Leveraged. This number includes short-term jobs (i.e., with a duration of less than one year) typically leveraged during the cleanup stage. Only actual jobs should be reported; planned or expected jobs should not be reported until they are realized. Cleanup jobs directly paid for by an EPA cooperative agreement should not be reported here; only include jobs leveraged as a result of an EPA cooperative agreement.
• Number of Redevelopment Jobs Leveraged. This number also includes short-term jobs (i.e., with a duration of less than one year) typically leveraged during the construction stage and long-term jobs that typically occur as a result of the new or enhanced reuse at the property (i.e., with a duration of more than one year). Only actual jobs should be reported; planned or expected jobs should not be reported until they are realized.

Dollars leveraged are dollars obtained as a natural result or outcome of EPA-funded activities (e.g., environmental assessments, cleanup).

To report a leveraged accomplishment, the recipient must demonstrate a link or connection between the EPA-funded activity and the leveraged accomplishment.

We have a property that was assessed with EPA Brownfields funding from two separate cooperative agreements. Which grant do I enter the assessment information under?

The environmental assessment activity performed under each cooperative agreement should be entered into ACRES, but only one property record should be created to avoid creating duplicate property records. To do this, create one property record and associate it with both grants, and then enter the appropriate assessment information under each grant (cooperative agreement).

When is cleanup considered to have been started?

When the cleanup contractor mobilizes at the property. Cleanup activities include, but are not limited to the following:

• Demolition for environmental reasons
• Emergency removals
• Drum barrel removal
• Soil, water and groundwater treatment
• Capping
• Operations and maintenance activities

When is a cleanup considered to have been completed?

When the cleanup activities at a property are completed to a regulatory risk-based standard. This typically occurs when one of the following conditions applies:

• A “clean” or “no further action” letter or its equivalent has been issued by the state or tribe under its voluntary response program or its equivalent for cleanup activities at the property.
• The cooperative agreement recipient or property owner, upon the recommendation of an environmental professional, has determined and documented that on-property work is finished. Ongoing operations and maintenance activities or monitoring may continue after a cleanup completion designation has been made.

When is redevelopment considered to have been started?

Generally, when infrastructure preparation, property preparation (site grading) or a groundbreaking ceremony has occurred. Redevelopment could begin before cleanup is completed if portions of the property are undergoing simultaneous cleanup and redevelopment activities. However, the environmental cleanup activities necessary to prepare the property for redevelopment (e.g., demolition of a remaining structure) should not be considered redevelopment activities.

Who determines whether Institutional Controls are in place?

It depends on the type of Institutional Controls (ICs), the specific circumstances at each site, and which authorities (e.g., state, tribal or local government, private parties) are applied.

Do ICs need to be in place for cleanup to be considered complete?

Some State and Tribal Response Programs may require ICs to be in place to certify a cleanup. Generally, a cleanup accomplishment is reached when one of the following conditions occurs:

• A “clean” or “no further action” letter or its equivalent has been issued by the state or tribe under its voluntary response program or its equivalent for cleanup activities at the property.
• The cooperative agreement recipient or property owner, upon the recommendation of an environmental professional, has determined and documented that on-property work is finished. Ongoing operations and maintenance activities or monitoring may continue after a cleanup completion designation has been made.

Contact a Brownfields Program representative in your EPA regional office with any questions.

How do I report additional EPA funds spent at the property that are not from the EPA Brownfields Program?

Enter any additional EPA funds under the “Other Federal” option in ACRES. Enter the funding amount and the name of the funding source (e.g., EPA Environmental Education Grant, EPA Environmental Justice Grant).

EPA’s Brownfields Program funds are not considered “leveraged” funding; therefore, they should not be entered in ACRES.

I know we will receive additional leveraged cleanup or redevelopment funding. When can I include this in ACRES?

Enter leveraged funding in ACRES only when it is actually manifested. Do not enter uncommitted funding into ACRES.

Our property was assessed with EPA Brownfields Assessment funding, but cleaned up using non-EPA Brownfields Program funding (i.e., Cleanup, RLF, and State and Tribal property-specific cooperative agreements). How do we enter the leveraged cleanup activities in ACRES?

For Assessment cooperative agreement recipients, enter available information related to cleanup activities conducted with funding from other sources in the appropriate fields provided for “Environmental Cleanup Information” in ACRES (e.g., the leveraged funding sources, name of entity providing leveraged funds and the amount of funding leveraged for cleanup).

Why was an assessment start/completion or a cleanup start/completion moved to the Data Documentation Notes in ACRES?

Typically, this is done to avoid or correct the double-counting of performance measure accomplishments. Double-counting of performance measure accomplishments can occur between Pilots and grants (e.g., Pilot accomplishments are sometimes duplicated on the grant PPFs) or between grants (e.g., accomplishments are sometime duplicated when multiple grants are awarded to the same organization).