United States
                  Environmental
                  Protection Agency
                  Washington, D.C.  20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response  (5101)
EPA500-F-99-094
May 1999
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
 >>EPA   Brownfields Cleanup
                  Revolving  Loan  Fund  Pilot
                                                         Wayne County, Ml
 Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101)
                     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 $200,000 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, cleanup revolving loan fund programs (each funded up to $500,000 over five years) to capitalize loan funds
to make loans forthe 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

Wayne County, Michigan is characterized by an
economy dominated by the vehicle manufacturing
industry. It is the center of the industrial heartland of
the United States, with approximately 46.5 square
miles used for manufacturing.  As a result, when this
industry suffers, Wayne County's economy suffers.
Past depressions in this industry, and the scaling back
of manufacturing in  general, have contributed to
approximately 2,000 documented brownfields in the
County. Closed plants and contaminated property,
along with illegal dumps and closed landfills, dot the
older urban communities ofthe County. Approximately
twenty-five percentof all Wayne County residents live
in poverty. For children under 18, the poverty rate
jumps to 41.5 percent.

BCRLF OBJECTIVES

The B CRLF pilot will target all ofWayne County, with
a focus on the following distressed communities:
Hamtramck, Highland Park, Ecorse, River Rouge,
Inkster, andMelvindale. The pilot anticipates that the
BCRLF will spur  the revitalization  of vacant or
underutilized properties. It is expected that this will help
create new jobs and increase the tax base in some of
the County'smost distressed communities. Potential
 PILOT SNAPSHOT
  Wayne County, Michigan
                       Date of Announcement:
                       May 25,1999

                       Amount: $500,000

                       BCRLF Target Area:
                       All of Wayne County, with a
                       focus on  six  suburbs
                       surrounding the City of Detroit
 Contacts:
 Director, Wayne County
 Planning Division
 (313) 224-5025
   Region 5 Brownfields
   Office
   (312) 886-7576
      Visit the EPA Region 5 Brownfields web site at:
          www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/

   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:
          http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/

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borrowers include amix of public and private entities,
including local businesses, community-based
organizations, cities/townships,  and community
developmentcorporations. By providing loans to private
businesses, the  BCRLF  will complement  other
brownfields funds available only to the public sector.

FUND STRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS

The  Wayne  County  Brownfields  Redevelopment
Authority will serve as lead agency and the County's
Planning Division will serve as site manager. The
Metropolitan Growth & Development Corporation
(MGDC) will serve as the fund manager. Through
MGDC, the County has originated over  70 loans,
resulting in a proven track record, a broad base of
community support, and the necessary institutional
structure forthe BCRLF program. Loans will range in
size from $50,000 to $300,000, with an initial interest
rate of 6 percent that may be reduced to 3 to 4 percent
to be competitive with non-brownfields redevelopment
loans.

LEVERAGING

An additional $45 8,000 of public and private investment
has been leveraged. Other sources of funds available
to brownfields sites in the County that will complement
the BCRLF include: Tax increment financing; MGDC
financing programs, including the Urban Loan Fund
and Small Business Administration revolving loan
funds; Michigan Department of Environmental Quality
(MDEQ) site reclamation grant and loan programs;
MDEQ  State  Revolving Fund for water  pollution
control projects;  the Clean Michigan Initiative for
brownfields cleanup; and a ten percent tax credit to
private corporations for investment in brownfields
projects.
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                                    Wayne County, Michigan
 May 1999                                                                      EPA 500-F-99-094

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