United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA500-F-99-092
May 1999
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Brownfields Cleanup
Revolving Loan Fund Pilot
St. Louis County, MO
(representing the City ofWellston, MO)
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
St. Louis County is acting on behalf of the City of
Wellston, Missouri forthe BCRLFpilotprogram. The
City ofWellston is an aging, industrial municipality that
has experienced tremendous decline and disinvestment
overthe past few decades. The City has apopulation
of 3,612, which represents adecline of 60 percent since
its incorporation in 1949. The City is characterized by
very high poverty (47 percent) and unemployment
rates (22 percent). The target area, the Wellston
Technology Park, is a 100-acre site in south-central
Wellston. In this area, approximately 1,100 parcels of
land are in need of redevelopment. This site is primarily
composed of light manufacturing and industrial uses,
with some residential areas throughout and surrounding
the area. The City ofWellston is also a Federally-
designated Regional Empowerment Zone.
BCRLF OBJECTIVES
St. Louis County' s BCRLF will finance environmental
cleanup and redevelopment in the Wellston Technology
Park. The pilot anticipates that the loan will provide
the seed money to help leverage additional public and
private funds. In particular, BCRLF funds will assist
developers and businesses who need short-term, low-
interest financing for cleanup work prior to
PILOT SNAPSHOT
St. Louis County, Missouri
(representing the City of
Wellston, MO)
Contacts:
St. Louis County Economic
Council
(314) 889-7663
Date of Announcement:
May 25,1999
Amount: $500,000
BCRLF Target Area:
Wellston Technology Park,
100 acres in south-central
Wellston
Region 7 Brownfields
Coordinator
(913) 551-7786
Visit the EPA Region 7 Brownfields web site at:
www.epa.gov/region07/specinit/brown/brownfields.htm
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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redevelopment. The pilot anticipates that the funds
will be used in two ways:
• To provide gap financing for proj ects that qualify for
tax credits or other incentives through the Missouri
Division of Economic Development's brownfields
tax credit program or its Enterprise Zone tax credit
program.
• To provide loan guarantees that cover cleanup costs,
up to the amountofthe loan guarantee, exceeding the
appraised value on which the borrower's primary
financing is based.
FUND STRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS
The Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority of
St. Louis County will serve as the lead agency. The St.
Louis County Department of Health will serve as site
manager. The Business Finance Division of the St.
Louis County Economic Council, which operates a
variety of loan programs, will serve as fund manager.
BCRLF loans will carry a standard term of up to five
years.
LEVERAGING
The Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority will
contribute in-kind support in the form of staff time and
office space. Leveraged funds may come from
conventional construction and business loans, loans
from the Community Development Bank, private
financing and grants offered by St. Louis' 2004
Sustainable Neighborhoods program, and tax credits
and other incentives offeredby the Missouri Department
of Economic Development. Since the area has been
designated a Regional Empowerment Zone, other
federal support may result.
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 St. Louis County, Missouri
May 1999 EPA 500-F-99-092
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