United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA500-F-01-230
April 2001
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
vxEPA Brownfields Cleanup
Revolving Loan Fund Pilot
State of Colorado (Coalition with Department of Public
Health and Environment and the City of Westminster)
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 brownfield is 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 forfuture 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 Westminster will join the Colorado
Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund (CBRLF) Coalition
previously awarded a BCRLF grant in 1999. The
coalition is comprised of the cities of Englewood,
Lakewood, Loveland, and Denver, and two State
agencies, the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority
(CHFA) and the Colorado Department of Public Health
and Environment (CDPHE). Commerce City, awarded
a BCRLF pilot in 1997, will also be joining the
coalition. In addition to the State's current role of
providing assistance to coalition members, it will apply
a portion of coalition funding toward making loans on
a state-wide basis. Funding added to address the City
of Westminster and the state-wide loans will be pooled
with existing funds in the CBRLF.
In the late eighties, the demographics in Westminster
were such that much of the population was aging and
retiring. This reduction in workforce reduced the tax
base and caused businesses to relocate. In recent years,
however, the area experienced an influx of families,
although the younger population has found jobs in the
community to be lacking. In the South Westminster
revitalization area, income levels are substantially
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Date of Announcement:
April 2001
Amount: $2.0 million
BCRLF Target Area:
The South Westminster
Revitalization Area; other
sites located throughout the
State
Coalition: The State of Colorado and the City of Westminster
Contacts:
State of Colorado
Superfund Section Chief
(303) 692-3398
Region 8 Brownfields
RLF Coordinator
(303)312-6982
Visit the EPA Region 8 Brownfields web site at:
www.epa.gov/region08/land_waste/bfhome/bfhome.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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lower than in other parts of the City. Approximately
one in five families lives below the poverty line. These
low-income neighborhoods are usually situated in
clusters around commercial and industrial areas
potentially exposing residents to environmental risks.
The City is actively pursuing the cleanup and
redevelopment of brownfields. The City was awarded
an EPA Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot
in June 1999.
BCRLF OBJECTIVES
The Coalition's objective is to support local economic
and community development efforts through the
cleanup, redevelopment, and reuse of contaminated
sites. As with the original purpose of the coalition,
Colorado and its coalition members will use the
BCRLF to help fill the financing gap resulting from the
absence of public brownfields cleanup funding
resources in the State. The CDPHE will use its grant
funds on a statewide level to assist smaller communities
and Native American tribes in the cleanup of small,
underutilized, contaminated properties. The City of
Westminster has targeted two areas for BCRLF cleanup
and redevelopment: the Little Dry Creek Corridor and
the 73rd and Lowell Redevelopment Area.
FUND STRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS
The CDPHE will serve as the lead agency and will
assist coalition communities in carrying out site
management responsibilities. CHFA is serving as fund
manager. A Board of Directors comprised of
representatives from the member cities and state
agencies provides policy direction to the Coalition.
LEVERAGING OTHER RESOURCES
BCRLF funds will be used in conjunction with tax
incentives in the State's Enterprise Zones, State
Brownfields Income Tax incentives, and numerous
other financial incentives offered at the local
government level. Westminster is a HUD entitlement
city and has Community Development Block Grant
(CDBG) monies available for South Westminster.
CHFA's commercial loan program will also be of
assistance in financing the non-cleanup related
activities associated with the redevelopment of these
brownfields. The City of Westminster will also be
providing significant resources and funding of its own
to the program.
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
April 2001
State of Colorado and the City of Westminster
EPA 500-F-01-230
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