United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-01-244
April 2001
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
vvEPA
Brownfields Cleanup
Revolving Loan Fund Pilot
State of Oklahoma Department of
Environmental Quality
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
Oklahoma was once dominated by a booming oil
industry that employed many state residents. Following
the energy crisis of the early seventies, the collapse of
much of the state's oil industry left behind areas of
heavy contamination, and devastated communities, and
led to nearly 20 years of economic distress. The
average per capita income in the State is $22,953, and
ranks 43rd in the nation. More than 15% of the
population live below the poverty line. Oklahoma
currently has three Federal Empowerment Zones and
Enterprise Communities (EZ/EC) - one in central
Oklahoma City, one in Southeastern Oklahoma, and
one in the Town of Ada.
Oklahoma has been active in cleaning up and
redeveloping brownfields for many years, and the State
has established both a Voluntary Cleanup Program and
a Brownfields Program. In 1996, the Oklahoma
Brownfields Voluntary Redevelopment Act was
enacted. This law gives the Department of
Environmental Quality (DEQ) the authority to release
successful program participants from environmental
liability.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
State of Oklahoma
Contacts:
Waste Management Division
Oklahoma DEQ
(405)702-5127
Date of Announcement:
April 2001
Amount: $1.0 million
BCRLF Target Area:
Projects in designated
Empowerment Zones and
Enterprise Communities
Region 6 Brownfields
Coordinator
(214) 665-6688
Visit the EPA Region 6 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/Region06/6sf/bfpages/sfbfhome.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:
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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BCRLF OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the BCRLF Pilot are to provide
qualified applicants with the necessary capital to clean
up contaminated properties. A successful BCRLF
program will be self-sustaining and will assist the
DEQ's Brownfields Program achieve its goal of
returning abandoned, idled, and underused properties
to sustainable uses.
The Oklahoma BCRLF will give priority to projects
located in designated EZ/EC areas. Potential BCRLF
candidate projects include a former contaminated
property that Kaw City wishes to convert into a park; a
former National Guard Armory in Haskell that the City
plans to turn into a community center; and a former
refinery in Grandfield on which the town wishes to
build an industrial park. Additional sites identified by
EPA and DEQ Brownfields Pilot programs include the
Oklahoma Steel Castings facility in Tulsa.
FUND STRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS
DEQ will be the lead agency and will work with the
Oklahoma Department of Commerce to manage the
loans. DEQ's Waste Management Division will serve
as the brownfields site manager.
LEVERAGING OTHER RESOURCES
A variety of additional funding sources are available
to BCRLF loan recipients:
• The Public Infrastructure Development Fund,
provided by the Oklahoma Department of
Commerce;
• The Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund;
• Two revolving loan funds capitalized by
previous awards from the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development's Community
Development Block Grant program;
• Funding from the Oklahoma Energy Resources
Board for sites that were contaminated by past
oil exploration activities;
• The Oklahoma Department of Commerce's
Quality Jobs Program, which provides economic
incentives; and
• Tax breaks for materials used for environmental
cleanup.
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 Oklahoma
EPA 500-F-01-244
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