United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response(5101)
EPA 500-F-99-035
May 1999
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
&EPA Brownfields Cleanup
Revolving Loan Fund Pilot
Pittsburgh, PA
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
upto $200,000 overtwo 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 brownfieldstofacilitatecleanupofbrownfieldssites and preparetrainees for future employmentintheenvironmental
field; and, cleanup revolving loan fund programs (each funded up to $500,000 over five years) to capitalize loan funds
to make loans 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
Pittsburgh saw a population decrease of more than
150,000 from 1970 to 1990. The city currently has the
state's greatest concentration of impoverished
communities. The topography of the city, with three
maj or rivers and deep valleys, has significantly reduced
the amount of land available for development. In
addition, the Pittsburgh area's industrial base has
experienced a tremendous loss due primarily to the
closing of steel mills and related metals industries.
Many of these sites, which are now vacant and
abandoned, lie along the riverfront adjacent to or
within low-income residential communities.
BCRLFOBJECTIVES
Pittsburgh's goal for its BCRLF Pilot program is to
revitalize the city by facilitating the reclaiming and
redeveloping of abandoned sites that are economically
feasible for development. The loan funds will be used
to clean up publicly owned and privately contaminated
sites, and will leverage other public and private funds
for both cleanup activities and site development. The
BCRLF will allow the city to convert brownfields
sites back to productive use, retain and create jobs,
deter disinvestment, and attract new investment in the
city. The loan funds will be targeted to the city's
PILOTSNAPSHOT
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Date of Award:
September 1997
Amount: $350,000
BCRLF Target Area : The
city's federal Enterprise
Community area, state
Enterprise Zones, and state
Redevelopment Areas.
Contacts:
DURA of Pittsburgh
(412)255-6658
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA- Region 3
(215)814-3129
Visit the EPA Region 3 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/brownfld/hmpage1.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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federal Enterprise Community neighborhoods, its state
Enterprise Zone areas, and its state-certified
Redevelopment Areas. The city will build upon the
community involvement concepts established in
designating these distressed communities.
FUNDSTRUCTUREANDOPERATIONS
The city will designate the Urban Redevelopment
Authority of Pittsburgh (URA) as the Fund Manager.
The revolving loan fund will be administered through
the URA's Business Development Center. All loans
must be approved by either the URA's Business Loan
Review Committee or Real Estate Loan Review
Committee. The URA's Department of Engineering
and Construction will manage the site cleanup activities
and will designate site managers to oversee cleanup
activities at each site.
The URA will establish written application processes
and procedures. Loan amounts are not expected to
exceed 50 percent of the total development cost. The
minimum loan amount is $25,000, and the maximum
loan amount is $350,000. The borrower must provide
equity at least equal to 10 percent of the total
development cost. All loans will be secured by liens
(e.g., mortgage interests, guarantees).
LEVERAGINGOTHERRESOURCES
The BCRLF funds will be used as part of an overall
financing package to ensure the cleanup and
redevelopment of brownfields. The city plans to
capitalize the BCRLF with funds from a variety of
federal, state and local sources, including: U.S.
Housing and Urban Development Section 108 Loan
Guarantee funds; U.S. Economic Development
Administration funds; the state Communities of
Opportunity Fund; the state Industrial Site Reuse
Fund; the state Enterprise Zone; the state
Infrastructure Development Fund; city tax increment
financing; city capital funds/bonds. These programs
provide below-market-rate capital to lower the cost
of locating companies in the city. Leveraged other
financing resources will provide help for site acquisition
and development, real estate development, equipment,
and working capital.
Use of BCRLF Pilot funds must be in accordance with
CERCLA, andallCERCLA restrictions on use of funding
also apply to BCRLF funds.
Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund Pilot
May 1999
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
EPA500-F-99-035
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