Brownfields 1998 Revolving Loan Fund Pilot
Fact Sheet
Coalition: Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation and Rhode
Island Department of Environmental Management
EPA Brownfields Initiative
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states.
communities, and other stakeholders to work together to
prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse
brownfields. A brownfield site is real property, the
expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be
complicated by the presence or potential presence of a
hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. On
January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into
law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields
Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields Law, EPA
provides financial assistance to eligible applicants
through four competitive grant programs: assessment
grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and
job training grants. Additionally, funding support is
provided to state and tribal response programs through a
separate mechanism.
Background
The Rhode Island BCRLF is a coalition of the Rhode
Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC)
and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental
Management (RIDEM). There are approximately 300
brownfields sites in the State. Generally, the sites are
found in urban areas with high unemployment and high
poverty rates. Some of the Rhode Island cities with
brownfields include: Central Falls, Newport, Pawtucket,
Providence, West Warwick, Woonsocket and Burrilville.
Manufacturing centers once thrived in these cities, but
many of the old sites are now brownfields. Both RIEDC
and RIDEM are Brownfield Site Assessment Pilot
entities. The Rhode Island BCRLF will act as a
sustainable financing mechanism to finance the cleanup
of brownfields sites so they can be redeveloped for
commercial revitalization, creation of jobs, and
elimination of the public health risk to residents in close
proximity of these sites.
Pilot Snapshot
Date of Announcement: 05/01/2000
Amount: $1,000,000
Profile: State of Rhode Island brownfields
properties
Contacts
For further information, including specific grant
contacts, additional grant information, brownfields
news and events, and publications and links, visit the
EPA Brownfields Web site
(http ://www .epa.gov/brownfields).
EPA Region 1 Brownfields Team
(617)918-1424
EPA Region 1 Brownfields Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/regionl/brownfields)
Grant Recipient: Rhode Island Economic
Development Corporation
(401)222-2601
Objectives
The goals of the Rhode Island BCRLF are to: clean up
and return to productive uses the State's brownfields;
provide appropriate protection of the State's natural
resources; spur community revitalization and economic
growth; and improve the quality of life in environmental
justice neighborhoods near and around the State's
brownfields. The Rhode Island BCRLF will focus on
several specific sites: the Rav Fasteners site in South
Providence; the Royal Mills site in West Warwick; the
Mill Complex in Burrillville; the American Tourister
site in Providence; and the East Providence Landfill
site.
Activities
Fund Structure and Operations
The Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation
will serve as the lead agency and the Rhode Island
Department of Environmental Management will serve
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA500-F-00-152
May 00
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as site manager. The Small Business Loan Fund
Corporation (SBLFC), an established $9 million
revolving loan fund and a wholly-owned subsidiary of
the RIEDC, will serve as fund manager.
The Rhode Island BCRLF will make minimum loans of
$50,000 and maximum loans of $250,000. The average
term of a loan is expected to be 24 months.
Rhode Island plans to establish a co-lending program to
attract private capital from lending institutions to
leverage and enhance the BCRLF. RIEDC also operates
economic development loan programs which could be
used to finance brownfields redevelopment. RIEDC will
provide staff time to the BCRLF.
Use of BCRLF Pilot funds must be in accordance with
CERCLA, and all CERCLA restrictions on use of
funding also apply to BCRLF funds.
The information presented in this fact sheet comes from
the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the accuracy of
this information. The cooperative agreement for the
grant has not yet been negotiated. Therefore, activities
described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA500-F-00-152
May 00
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