United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA500-F-99-079
May 1999
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
>>EPA Brownfields Cleanup
Revolving Loan Fund Pilot
Lawrence, MA
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
The City of Lawrence was established in the mid-
nineteenth century as an industrial center for textile
production. Since World War II, the City's economy
has been in decline. Most of the textile manufacturers
have shut down. While some have been replaced with
other industries, the decline in manufacturing overthe
last fifty years has led to underutilization, decay, and
abandonment of many buildings. Historically, the City
has been the site of junkyards, scrap metal facilities,
and auto repair garages, all of which contributed to
current contamination problems. The City's per capita
income in 1989 was only 56.2 percent of the state
average. The 1990 poverty rate of 27.8 percent made
Lawrence the 23rd poorest city in the U.S. with a
population greater than 50,000.
BCRLF OBJECTIVES
The City's BCRLF pilot intends to help cleanup and
revitalize existing industrial space. Through these
activities, the pilot anticipates an expansion of the tax
base and elimination of blight. The BCRLF will also
provide an alternative to the development of greenfields.
The pilothas identifiedtwo potential BCRLF borrowers
with which the City's Office of Planning and
Development is currently working. Several other
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Date of Announcement:
May 25,1999
Amount: $500,000
BCRLF Target Area:
Brownfields throughout the
City of Lawrence
Lawrence, Massachusetts
Contacts:
Office of Planning and
Development
(978) 794-5891
Region 1 Brownfields
Coordinator
(617) 918-1209
Visit the EPA Region 1 Brownfields web site at:
www.epa.gov/region01/remed/brnfld/
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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properties also have been identified as potential
candidatesthroughthe City's Brownfields Assessment
Pilot.
FUND STRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS
The City's Office of Planning and Development will
serve as lead agency. To obtain assistance in carrying
out its site management responsibilities, the City plans
to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the
Massachusetts Department of Environmental
Protection. The Office of Economic Developmentwill
serve as fund manager. The BCRLF will operate in
conjunction with the Small Business RLF, also managed
by the Office of Economic Development.
LEVERAGING
The $500,000 BCRLF pilotfunding will be combined
with$500,000 in both Community Development Block
Grant funds and US Housing and Urban Development
Section 108 loans, bringing the entire budget to $1.5
million over five years. In-kind services related to the
general economic development activities will be
provided by the City. Other potential sources of funds
for cleanup include the Massachusetts Development
Finance Agency, the Economic Development
Administration, and private funding through the
Quadrant Group. The Small Business RLF is often
used in conjunction with other redevelopment loans
from the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency,
the Merrimack Valley Small Business Development
Loan Program, and commercial lenders. Additionally,
Lawrence is a state-designated Economic Target Area,
which allows the City to offer special tax assessments,
tax increment financing, enhanced investment tax
credits, and tax credits for the redevelopment of
abandoned mill properties.
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 Lawrence, Massachusetts
May 1999 EPA 500-F-99-079
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