SEFft *Or United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. 20460 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105) EPA 500-F-01-352 August 2001 www.epa.gov/brownfields/ State of Colorado Coalition Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund Pilot Project State of Colorado Coalition Outreach and Special Projects Staff 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 for future employment in the environmental field; and cleanup revolving loan fund programs (each funded up to $1 million 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 The City of Englewood is part of the Colorado Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund (CBRLF) Coali- tion, which received its initial Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund (BCRLF) grant in 1999. The coalition comprises the cities of Englewood, Lake- wood, Loveland, Denver, Commerce City and Westminster (joining in 2001) and two state agencies, the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). Englewood is part of the state Arapaho County Enterprise Zone. Englewood is undergoing a major redevelopment initiative to convert environmentally impacted sites into economically viable properties. The city is an inner-ring suburb in the Denvermetropolitan area. In its history, Englewood was home to many heavy manufacturing industries. The Centennial Park expansion project involves the redevelopment of a former landfill into an all-star baseball field, which incorporates major park en- hancements benefitting the South Platte River Trail. This project is significant to the communities of Englewood, Sheridan, and Littleton as it provides PILOT SNAPSHOT Date of Award: August 2001 Amount: $705,041 Profile: The loan to Englewood, CO is for the Centennial Park expansion project. Sfafe of Colorado Coalition Contacts: Colorado Department of Public Region 8 BCRLF Coordinator Health and Environment (303)312-6982 (303)692-3398 City of Englewood (303)762-2599 Visit the EPA Region 8 Brownfields website at: www.epa.gov/region08/land waste/bfhome/bfhome.html Forfurtherinformation, including specificPilot contacts, additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields website at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/ ------- regional recreational amenities to residents of all three cities. The demographics of the surrounding area indicate that the BCRLF loan proceeds will benefit economically disadvantaged families. In September 1997, EPA awarded a $200,000 Brownfields Assessment Pilot grant to the City of Englewood. In April 2000, the city was chosen to receive $150,000 in Supplemental Assistance to sup- port Assessment Pilot work along the Santa Fe/Platte River Corridor. Much of the supplemental funding is being used for land use planning and community involvement in transportation, economic, and environ- mental work along the corridor, which includes Cen- tennial Park. Within a quarter-mile radius of Centen- nial Park the unemployment rate is 6.4 percent. STRUCTURE OF BCRLF PROGRAM The CBRLF Coalition is a six-city, statewide BCRLF coalition. The CDPHE functions as both the lead agency and the site manager. The CHFA acts as the fund manager. The coalition's objective is to support local economic and community development efforts through the cleanup, redevelopment, and reuse of contaminated sites. As with the original purpose of the coalition, Colorado and its coalition members will use the BCRLF to help fill the financing gap resulting from the absence of public brownfields cleanup funding resources in the state. BCRLF BORROWER The City of Englewood is borrowing $705,041 from the CBRLF Coalition. The interest rate on the loan is 2 percent per annum over a loan term of 10 years. BCRLF CLEANUP SITE The Centennial Park expansion project involves the redevelopment of a 9.4-acre former landfill into an all- star baseball field. The site was mined for gravel from 1956 to 1970 and land filled with solid waste materials from about 1963 into the 1970s. Site investigations identified elevated concentrations of heavy metals, PCBs, and dioxin in the soil with the potential for their subsequent leaching into the groundwater. Groundwater currently meets state standards at the property line. The site abuts the South Platte River and Centennial Lake. Groundwater flow direction parallels the South Platte. Detections of methane have been below applicable standards. The site cleanup involves venting methane gas and putting a clay cap on the former landfill site. PROPOSED SITE REUSE PLAN The site reuse plan includes construction of three lighted ball fields, restrooms, trail connections, and kayak access to the South Platte River. One field will be a baseball diamond sponsored by a Colorado Rockies team member as part of the team's Youth Field of Dreams program. This project involves a number of funding partners, including an EPA BCRLF grant, Colorado lottery funding, an All Souls grant, and a grant from Brent Mayne/McCormick Foundation (Colorado Rockies Baseball Team). The total project cost for the redevelopment of the former landfill is $2,382,522. Englewood has committed public improvement funding in excess of $1 million to develop the ball fields and enable the park expansion along the South Platte River corridor. The Colorado BCRLF grant allows Englewood to move forward with the development of the ball fields in 2001. Without BCRLF funding, the city couldhave lostthe designation of the ball fields and funding from the Colorado Rockies. BCRLF LEVERAGING BCRLF funds will be used in conjunction with tax incentives in the state's Enterprise Zones, state Brownfields income tax incentives, and numerous other financial incentives offered at the local government level. CHFA's commercial loan program will also be of assistance in financing the non-cleanup- related activities associated with the redevelopment of these brownfields. CONTACTS Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (303)692-3398 City of Englewood (303)762-2599 Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund Pilot August 2001 State of Colorado Coalition EPA 500-F-01-352 ------- EPA Region 8 Project Officer (303)312-6982 EPA-OSWER Outreach and Special Projects Staff (202)260-4039 For additional information, contact the RCRA/ SuperfundHotline at: (800) 424-9346 orvisitthe EPA Brownfields website at: http://www.epa.gov/ brownfields Use ofBCRLF 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 State of Colorado Coalition August2001 EPA 500-F-01-352 ------- |