Brownfields 2001 Revolving Loan Fund Pilot
Fact Sheet
Saginaw County Brownfields Redevelopment Authority, Ml
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
Saginaw County is located approximately 100 miles
north of Detroit at the northern end of Michigan's
industrial corridor. The automobile industry historically
has dominated the County's economy. Although other
industries in the area including forestry, agriculture, oil,
and coal have been important, a decline in
manufacturing over the past thirty years has caused many
businesses in the county to close or relocate. The
resulting economic distress has been severe. The
County's urban center, the City of Saginaw, has one of
the highest poverty rates in the United States at 31.7%.
Unemployment rates also run into the double digits. As a
result, the City has been designated as a Renaissance
Zone.
Remnants of the County's industrial past are principally
found in Saginaw City and along the highly
contaminated Saginaw River. More than 800 abandoned
and vacant lots have reverted to City or State ownership,
and over 200 brownfields sites have been identified.
Pilot Snapshot
Date of Announcement: 04/01/2001
Amount: $1,000,000
Profile: Sites throughout Saginaw County
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 5 Brownfields Team
(312)886-7576
EPA Region 5 Brownfields Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields)
Grant Recipient: Saginaw County Brownfields
Redevelopment Authority, MI
(517)790-5200
Objectives
The Saginaw County BCRLF will be used to provide
needed "gap" financing for environmental cleanup. The
BCRLF program will complement the County's
Brownfields Redevelopment Authority (BRA), created
under state authority, to help clean up and develop
contaminated sites.
Several sites have been identified as potential BCRLF
loan recipients. These include a vacant agricultural
elevator facility, an abandoned riverfront steel recycling
facility, and a former soap manufacturing building. All
sites are contaminated and in need of cleanup funding
Activities
The Saginaw County BRA will serve as the lead agency
and site manger. The County Treasurer's office will
serve as fund manager. The size of the individual loans
will depend on the extent to which a cleanup funding
"gap" exists. The proposed interest rate is 4%.
Generally, projects are anticipated to have a loan term
of less than ten years.
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA500-F-01-248
Apr 01
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The Saginaw County BRA will serve as the lead agency
and site manger. The County Treasurer's office will
serve as fund manager. The size of the individual loans
will depend on the extent to which a cleanup funding
"gap" exists. The proposed interest rate is 4%.
Generally, projects are anticipated to have a loan term
of less than ten years.
A variety of state and federal funding sources are
available to complement the Saginaw County BCRLF.
The County is also in the process of identifying other
available sources of funds from other federal agencies
including the Economic Development Administration's
brownfields program and the Department of Housing
and Urban Development's Community Development
Block Grant programs. At the state level, Michigan has
several grant and loan programs that are specifically
designed to assist brownfields cleanup efforts, including
the Brownfields Redevelopment Site Reclamation Grant
program and the Clean Michigan Initiatives program.
Furthermore, the State provides tax incentives for
brownfields redevelopment through Public Act 381, and
the Michigan Single Business Tax Credit. The County
of Saginaw will contribute office space, supplies and
support, auditing, financial oversight, and security to the
BCRLF program as needed.
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-01-248
Apr 01
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