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Brownfields  2005

Grant  Fact Sheet

        Reuse Idaho

Brownfields Coalition


EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders in economic development
to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up,
and sustainably reuse brownfields. Abrownfield site is
real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse
of which may be complicated by the presence or
potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant,
or contaminant. On January 11, 2002, President George
W. Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability
Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the
Brownfields Law,  EPA provides financial assistance to
eligible applicants  through four competitive grant
programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund
grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. Addi-
tionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal
response programs through a separate mechanism.

Community Description

The Reuse Idaho Brownfields Coalition was selected
to receive a brownfields revolving loan fund grant. The
coalition represents all six councils of government
serving Idaho's 44 counties (total population 1,342,946).
According to the Economic Development Administra-
tion, 74 percent of Idaho's regions meet the federal
"area distress" criteria based on per capita income and
unemployment rates. Idaho's rural communities are
struggling to reuse former lumber mill sites. In the past
decade, the Boise  Cascade Corporation, a large Idaho
employer, closed its lumber mills, stripping numerous
cities of their primary employer and leaving behind
abandoned sites. Numerous mining operations have
also closed down, leaving communities with damaged
   Revolving Loan Fund ^2005)
   Grant
  $1,500,000 for hazardous substances
  $1,500,000 for petroleum

  EPA has selected the Reuse Idaho Brownfields
  Coalition for a brownfields revolving loan fund
  grant. The grant will be used to capitalize a
  revolving loan fund from which the Reuse Idaho
  Brownfields Coalition will provide loans and
  subgrants to support cleanup activities for sites in
  areas contaminated with hazardous substances
  and petroleum. Coalition partners include all six
  Economic Development Districts and the Idaho
  Department of Environmental Quality. Funds will
  be used to address brownfields throughout the
  State of Idaho.
  Contacts
  For further information, including specific grant
  contacts, additional grant information, brownfields
  news and events, and publications and links, visit
  the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/
  brownfields.

  EPA Region 10 Brownfields Team
  206-553-2100
  http://www.epa.gov/rlOearth, click on
  "Superfund", scroll down and click on
  "Brownfields"

  Grant Recipient: Reuse Idaho Brownfields
  Coalition, ID
  208-322-7033, ext. 234

  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
  yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
  in this fact sheet are subject to change.
properties. The Idaho Department of Environmental
Quality (IDEQ) and the EPA assessed over 30
brownfields in 2004, and the IDEQ is developing a
statewide inventory of up to 300 sites. In much of
                                                Solid Waste and
                                                Emergency Response
                                                (5105T)
                        EPA560-F-05-153
                        May 2005
                        www.epa.gov/brownfields

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Idaho, greenfields are inexpensive and attractive to
developers. By offering competitive financing for
brownfields properties, the loan fund will help preserve
greenspace, encourage reuse of existing infrastructure,
protect and improve public health and safety through
the cleanup of sites, spur job creation, and eliminate
blight in town centers.

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