United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response(5101)
EPA 500-F-99-046
May 1999
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
&EPA Brownfields Cleanup
Revolving Loan Fund Pilot
Dallas, TX
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
The City of Dallas is located in the north central
region of Texas. More than 50 percent of Dallas'
population is minority, and the city has an unemployment
rate of almost 12 percent. Nineteen percent of the
Dallas population is living below the poverty level.
Some of the city's major brownfields areas have
unemployment rates of 22 to 25 percent. Several
thousand sites in Dallas have been identified as having
potential, or already determined, environmental
problems. In particular, the central business district
and the surrounding neighborhoods have many acres
of potential brownfields. There are approximately
5,300 vacant commercial buildings in Dallas.
BCRLFOBJECTIVES
The goal of the Dallas BCRLF Pilot is to fund the
cleanup of the city's brownfields and supplement the
city's Brownfields Program. In addition to fostering
brownfields cleanup and helping stimulate economic
development, the BCRLF funds will in turn strengthen
Dallas's neighborhoods, encourage business and job
growth, and increase city tax revenues. To help
implement the BCRLF Pilot, the city will rely on a
number of standard operating procedures, documents,
and systems developed by the Dallas Brownfields
PILOTSNAPSHOT
Dallas, Texas
Date of Award:
September 1997
Amount: $350,000
BCRLF Target Area :
Brownfields sites throughout
Dallas, particularly those in the
central business district and
surrounding neighborhoods.
Contacts:
Dallas Economic
Development Department
(214)670-1685
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 6
(214) 665-6736
Visit the EPA Region 6 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/earth1r6/6sf/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:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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Forum, a city-wide representative citizen, industry,
and regulatory advisory committee.
FUNDSTRUCTUREANDOPERATIONS
Dallas plans to provide revolving fund gap financing
for brownfields cleanup using the $350,000 in EPA
BCRLF funds and $350,000 in city funds, for a total
of $700,000. The city will also provide in-kind
contributions to cover many of the administrative
expenses of implementing the loan fund. The city's
Economic Development Department (EDD) will serve
as Lead Agency, in-house Fund Manager, and Site
Manager. Further, the city will partner with a third
party (e.g., a financial institution or trust department)
to serve as the day-to-day Fund Manager that will be
responsible for structuring loan agreements, collateral
agreements, record keeping, loan disbursements,
tracking and repayment instruments. In an effort to
leverage funds and to induce the borrowers to complete
the projects, borrowers will be strongly urged, and
may be required, to purchase two forms of
environmental insurance—excess cleanup cost and
third party liability protection. In addition to this
environmental insurance protection, the city will require
performance bonding by the environmental consultants
conducting the cleanup activities. The cap for the
BCRLF loans is expected to be $100,000 for each
loan. Prospective borrowers will be encouraged, and
may be required, to enter the Texas Natural Resource
Conservation Commission (TNRCC) Voluntary
Cleanup Program.
LEVERAGINGOTHERRESOURCES
In addition to the city's contribution of $350,000 to the
BCRLF, additional efforts will continue to develop a
larger pool of resources. The city is working with the
Small Business Administration (SB A), several financial
institutions, and the TNRCC to leverage the BCRLF.
Although the Small Business Administration, lending
institutions, and non-profit development corporations
will not finance environmental cleanup, they will work
hand-in-hand with a cleanup loan fund to provide
complementary real estate, minority training, and
business start-up loans. Dallas currently offers a set
of incentives known as the city's Public/Private
Partnership Program. For example, the city's tax
abatement policy seeks to direct growth to the city's
Enterprise Zones.
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
Dallas, Texas
EPA500-F-99-046
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