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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