United States
                       Environmental
                       Protection Agency
                       Washington, D.C. 20460
  Solid Waste
  and Emergency
  Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-01-242
April 2001
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
 <>EPA      Brownfields  Cleanup
                       Revolving  Loan   Fund   Pilot
                                                                             Norwich, CT
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)
                       Quick Reference Fact Sheet
EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower states, communities, and other stakeholders
in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse
brownfields. A brownfieldis a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and an active potential for
redevelopment or reuse. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded up to $250,000 over two
years), to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup and redevelopment models;job training pilot programs (each funded
up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities affected by brownfields to facilitate cleanup
of brownfields sites and prepare trainees for future employment in the environmental field; and, brownfields cleanup revolving
loan fund (BCRLF) programs (each funded up to $1,000,000 over five years), to provide financial assistance for the
environmental cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs are intended to provide EPA, states, tribes, municipalities, and
communities with useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods to promote a unified approach to
site assessment, environmental cleanup, and redevelopment.
BACKGROUND

The City of Norwich is a former mill town located on
the Thames River in eastern Connecticut. Norwich is
composed  of former  mill  villages and residential
neighborhoods that developed  around individual
factories.   When  the  City's manufacturing  base
dissolved  in  the  1980s,  mills closed and  were
abandoned. As a result, there are numerous brownfields
in the midst of residential communities. Many of these
brownfields lie in deeply impoverished areas.  The
poverty rate in Norwich is double that of the county and
the state.

The  City  has actively addressed  its  brownfields
problem.  An  EPA  Brownfields   Assessment
Demonstration Pilot Program allowed  Norwich  to
characterize  and  prioritize  contaminated  sites for
redevelopment.

BCRLF OBJECTIVES

The goals of Norwich's BCRLF program are to clean
up and return the City's brownfields sites to productive
use. The City hopes that this will result in job creation,
an increase in the tax  base,  elimination  of  potential
health risks, and an improvement in the quality of life
for residents with low to moderate incomes.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Norwich, CT
                        Date of Announcement:
                        April 2001


                        Amount: $1.0 million

                        BCRLF Target Area:
                        Low to Moderate Income
                        Census Tracts within the
                        City.
Contacts:

      City of Norwich
Economic Development Coordinator
      (860) 823-3822
   Region 1 Brownfields
     Coordinator
    (617)918-1210
    Visit the EPA Region 1 Brownfields web site at:
       http://www.epa.gov/region01/brownfields

For further information, including specific Pilot contacts, additional
 Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and publications
     and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
            www.epa.gov/brownfields

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Many of the areas targeted by the Norwich BCRLF
have been designated as State Urban Enterprise Zones
and Railroad Depot Zones.

The City will likely issue the first BCRLF loan to the
developer of the former Capehart Manufacturing Site.
This site has already undergone Phase II Assessment.

FUND STRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS

The lead agency will be the City of Norwich Economic
Development Department supported by  a licensed
environmental professional. The site manager will be
the U.S. Army  Corps of Engineers.  Finally, a city-
designated  subcontractor will serve  as  the  fund
manager.
LEVERAGING OTHER RESOURCES

A number of funding  sources  can  be used  to
complement BCRLF loans. State funds are available
to areas with Urban Enterprise Zone and Railroad
Depot Zone designations. A $1.5 million Business
Development Pool is another possible means of state
financial support. Funds are also available thanks to
the City's designation as a Department of Housing
and Urban Development Entitlement  Community.
The City also plans to make significant contributions
of its  own.
 Use of BCRLF Pilot funds must be in accordance with
 CERCLA,  and all CERCLA restrictions  on use of
funding also apply to BCRLF funds.
Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund Pilot
Apri/2001	
                                     Norwich, CT
                                 EPA 500-F-01-242

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