United States
                  Environmental
                  Protection Agency
                  Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response(5101)
 EPA 500-F-99-033
 May 1999
 www.epa.gov/brownfields/
 &EPA   Brownfields Cleanup
                  Revolving  Loan  Fund  Pilot
                                                              Baltimore, MD
 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

Baltimore was built upon the strength of its port and
its traditional manufacturing industry.   However,
between 1970 and 1990, Baltimore lost more than 50
percent of its manufacturing j obs. Old manufacturing
facilities and properties were left behind. The Baltimore
City Department of Planning estimates that 1,000
acres of industrially zoned land are either vacant or
underused. For many of these sites, revitalization is
blocked by  environmental contamination,  and
Baltimore continues to have difficulty in finding funds
for the pre-development costs of site cleanup. Without
the revolving loan fund, the  land will remain vacant
and underutilized.

BCRLFOBJECTIVES

With the BCRLF Pilot, the city will continue to focus
its brownfields  efforts on the federally-designated
Empowerment Zone (EZ) and other distressed areas
of the city (e.g., southeast Baltimore), although loans
will be available to fund  cleanup on  properties
anywhere in the city. The main goal of the Baltimore
BCRLF Pilot is to  fund cleanup of at least  two
properties with potential  or perceived environmental
contamination and return the land to productive use.
 PILOTSNAPSHOT
                     Date of Award:
                     September 1997

                     Amount: $350,000

                     BCRLF  Target Area :
                     Economically distressed areas
                     of Baltimore.
   Baltimore, Maryland
 Contacts:

 Baltimore City Department
 of Planning
 (410) 396-8356
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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By funding the cleanup of brownfields, the Pilot aims
to:   increase job opportunities for lower-income
populations; stimulate economic growth; remove long-
standing potential threats to public health and the
environment; revitalize affected communities; promote
environmental protection; increase city tax revenues;
and work toward more efficient land use patterns.

FUNDSTRUCTUREANDOPERATIONS

The city plans to finance cleanup for up to four sites,
depending on the cost of the individual sites, during the
initial round of loans.  Generally, the terms of the loan
will include a four-percent to seven-percent interest
rate, and a relatively short payback period of 18 to 36
months. The types of borrowers expected to benefit
from BCRLF Pilot financing are those property owners
and  developers who  are  planning projects  on
brownfields  sites in Baltimore, and who face
environmental cleanup obstacles to redevelopment.
Baseline eligibility for borrowing from the BCRLF
will include:  acceptance into the Maryland Voluntary
Cleanup Program (VCP); presentation of a financial
plan demonstrating the borrower's ability to repay the
loan, including sufficient collateral; and a history, on
the part of the developer, of responsible development
that takes the surrounding community into account.

The Baltimore City Department of Planning (BCP)
will  act as  the Lead Agency to ensure that all
activities are carried  out in accordance with the
program guidelines and the  cooperative agreement.
The Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC) will
serve as Fund Manager to  underwrite, close, and
administer the loan funds. Maryland Department of
the  Environment  (MDE) will provide regulatory
oversight of cleanup through its VCP.
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                                            Baltimore, Maryland
 May 1999                                                                         EPA500-F-99-033

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