Brownfields 2002 Revolving Loan Fund Pilot
9& % Fact Sheet
Montgomery County, PA
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
Montgomery County (population 750,000) is located
immediately northwest of the City of Philadelphia. The
county encompasses 62 municipalities, including the
older boroughs of Pottstown, Conshohocken, Ambler,
and Norristown. A 100-year history of heavy industrial
and manufacturing use has created many abandoned and
potentially contaminated properties in the county. The
majority of these properties are in the older boroughs
where demographic data indicate economic conditions
are significantly below county wide conditions. Even in
the growing state and county real estate market,
brownfields are being avoided because of liability and
cleanup concerns.
The Redevelopment Authority of Montgomery County
(RAMC) has been actively involved in reclaiming
brownfields since the mid-1970s. Under its Brownfields
Assessment Pilot, RAMC has created a comprehensive
inventory of brownfields in the county that identifies 70
high-priority sites. The inventory shows that brownfields
exist throughout the county and tend to be smaller sites
that impact surrounding properties. The county plans to
send a letter to the owners of these properties to
introduce them to redevelopment initiatives and seek
their participation. Site assessment activities will be
initiated in 2002. Many of these brownfields are located
Pilot Snapshot
Date of Announcement: 05/01/2002
Amount: $1,000,000
Profile: Sites throughout Montgomery 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 3 Brownfields Team
(215)814-3129
EPA Region 3 Brownfields Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/bf-lr)
Grant Recipient: Montgomery County, PA
(610)278-3680
Objectives
The county's goal is to use BCRLF Pilot funds to
redevelop contaminated sites and support local
economic and community development efforts.
Potential borrowers will be identified through outreach
already being conducted by county and state economic
development programs. Sites to be cleaned up using
BCRLF funds will be required to participate in the
Pennsylvania Industrial Sites Reuse Program.
The county has identified projects in Ambler Borough
and the Pottstown Keystone Opportunity Zone at which
BCRLF Pilot funds might be used in the near term. A
Phase II assessment is about to be completed at a former
asbestos manufacturer disposal area in Ambler Borough.
RAMC currently is pursuing access agreements from the
owners of the properties collectively forming the
Pottstown Keystone Opportunity Zone so that site
assessments can be conducted. These high-priority sites
are anticipated to be ready for cleanup within the year.
Activities
Fund Structure and Operations
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA500-F-02-016
May 02
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Opportunity Zones.
Montgomery County is the cooperative agreement
recipient and will serve as the lead agency. The
Redevelopment Authority of Montgomery County will
serve as the site manager and fund manager.
BCRLF funds will be used in conjunction with available
federal, state, and local economic and community
development funding programs. Potential state funding
programs include Pennsylvania Industrial Sites Reuse
grants, Infrastructure Development grants, brownfields
inventory grants, Enterprise Zone tax incentives, and
Keystone Opportunity Zone grants. Federal programs
include HUD Community Development Block Grants,
revolving loan programs, and Brownfields Economic
Development Initiative loans. The Montgomery County
Community Revitalization Program also may provide
grants. In addition, developers will be required to match
low-interest BCRLF loans.
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-02-016
May 02
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