United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA500-F-01-251
April 2001
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
vvEPA Brownfields Cleanup
Revolving Loan Fund Pilot
South Florida Regional Planning Council
(Coalition with Miami-Dade County, and the
Cities of Miami and Ft. Lauderdale)
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
In South Florida, urban sprawl has led to the
abandonment and deterioration of the older urban
corridor. At the same time, greenfield development
continues westward, ever closer to the pristine
Everglades. This pattern of urban sprawl also threatens
to further isolate the corridor's poor and minority
residents, cutting them off from the region's prosperity.
The South Florida BCRLF coalition pilot will focus on
the 115 mile "Eastward Ho! Corridor" located in the
eastern portions of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm
Beach Counties, and the cities of Miami and Ft.
Lauderdale. Many properties along this corridor have
been abandoned, leaving pockets of substantial poverty
and numerous brownfields.
In 1990, Miami-Dade County had the highest
percentage of families living in poverty nationally. The
Miami-Dade poverty rate is almost three times the
national average at 26%, and has resulted in the
County's designation as both a federal Empowerment
Zone and Enterprise Community. Miami is the nation's
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Date of Announcement: April 2001
Amount: $2.0 million
BCRLF Target Area:
115 mile corridor in the eastern
portions of Miami-Dade, Broward, and
Palm Beach Counties, the entire City
of Miami, and the North West
Progresso Flagler Heights Area of the
City of Ft. Lauderdale
Coalition: South Florida Regional Planning Council with Miami-
Dade County and the Cities of Miami and Ft. Lauderdale
Contacts:
South Florida Regional Planning
Council Brownfields Coordinator
(945)985-4416
Region 4 Brownfields
RLF Coordinator
(404) 562-8682
Visit the EPA Region 4 Brownfields web site at:
www.epa.gov/region4/topics/cleanup/brownfields.html
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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fourth poorest large city, with a poverty rate of 31.2%
and an average household income of $16,900. Miami is
also a federal Empowerment Zone.
BCRLF OBJECTIVES
The South Florida Regional Planning Council BCRLF
coalition's objectives will complement its regional role
in planning for and coordinating intergovernmental
solutions and testing mechanisms for efficient operation
under a highly fragmented administrative structure.
The coalition's goals are to provide a source of funding
for brownfields cleanup and urban revitalization and
attract public and private investment and partnerships.
FUND STRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS
The South Florida Regional Planning Council is the
cooperative agreement recipient and will serve as the
lead agency and fund manager. Site manager services
will be provided by county and state employees.
The proposed financing structure of South Florida's
BCRLF program will be flexible. The length of the
loans will be kept as short as practical in order to
recycle funds. Loan terms and rates will vary based on
the future cash flow of the project and the financing
gap between the value of development and the cost of
cleanup.
LEVERAGING OTHER RESOURCES
Federal, state, local government, and private sector
resources will be used where possible to complement
BCRLF funds. Available federal resources include
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development Economic Development Incentives and
Community Development Block Grants, and the
incentives that derive from the Empowerment and
Enterprise Zone designation. Complementary state
funding sources also being considered may include
the Florida Brownfields Program Voluntary Cleanup
Tax Credit. Private funding is available from the
Beacon Council, which encourages businesses to
relocate within the target area by offering $ 1,75 0 per
new job created and $ 1,000,000 for each new project
or business.
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
South Florida Regional Planning Council
EPA 500-F-01-251
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