Brownfields 2003 Revolving Loan Fund Grant Fact Sheet ***лл* Minnesota Department of Trade and Economic Development EPA Brownfields Program 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. Community Description The Minnesota Department of Trade and Economic Development was selected to receive a revolving loan fund grant. The state, with a population of almost 5 million, has a number of federal Empowerment Zones in its two largest cities, St. Paul and Minneapolis. Minnesota has documented 1,587 brownfields sites and estimates that there are at least an additional 1,000 undocumented sites. Many of these sites are the result of contamination at former commercial/industrial centers along railroad and river corridors, city centers, and dump sites. The conditions at these sites have decreased quality of life, lowered property values, and kept away business and redevelopment projects in the surrounding areas. These areas are traditionally low-income neighborhoods with high unemployment and poverty rates. It is anticipated that the proposed revolving loan fund will result in a program likely to serve about 20 projects during a ten-year period, thereby creating new jobs, affordable housing, and increasing the tax base. Revolving Loan Fund Grant $1,000,000 for hazardous substances EPA has selected the Minnesota Department of Trade and Economic Development for a brownfields revolving loan fund grant. The grant will be used to capitalize a revolving loan fund from which the Minnesota Department of Trade and Economic Development will provide loans and subgrants to conduct cleanup activities. The areas of need includes large-scale, complicated, or heavily contaminated sites where funding has been exhausted, sites where unanticipated contamination has been discovered while cleanup is underway, and sites where cash flows may not support traditional loan repayment (such as sites where the planned reuse is for a public park). 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: Minnesota Department of Trade and Economic Development (651)297-1291 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-03-137 Jun 03 ------- |