United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. 20460 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105) EPA500-F-01-239 April 2001 www.epa.gov/brownfields/ vvEPA Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund Pilot State of Nevada (Coalition with Department of Environmental Protection and Mineral County) Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105) Quick Reference Fact Sheet EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower states, communities, and other stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and an active potential for redevelopment or reuse. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded up to $250,000 over two years), to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup and redevelopment models; job training pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities affected by brownfields to facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and prepare trainees forfuture employment in the environmental field; and, brownfields cleanup revolving loan fund (BCRLF) programs (each funded up to $1,000,000 over five years), to provide financial assistance for the environmental cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs are intended to provide EPA, states, tribes, municipalities, and communities with useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods to promote a unified approach to site assessment, environmental cleanup, and redevelopment. BACKGROUND Economic decline in Nevada's northern and rural areas, including Mineral County, is linked to military downsizing, decreased mining and agriculture operations, and reduced tourism (due to competition with legalized gambling in other states). Diversification of the local economy is necessary to prevent further decline of the region's infrastructure. The State is addressing these issues, and has a strong brownfields track record, including a voluntary cleanup program, an existing state-level brownfields coordinator, and an EPA Regional Targeted Brownfields Assessment (TEA) Project in Mineral County. The Nevada BCRLF will be administered by a coalition of state and local agencies to provide access to low interest rate loans for brownfields redevelopment throughout the State (except for the Las Vegas BCRLF Project Area). Special emphasis will be placed on Mineral County and the Community of Hawthorne. BCRLF OBJECTIVES The BCRLF will provide incentives for the re-use of brownfields sites and will be a powerful tool for municipalities within Nevada to strengthen their PILOT SNAPSHOT Date of Announcement: April 2001 Amount: $2.0 million BCRLF Target Area: Locations throughout the State of Nevada Coalition: The State of Nevada and Mineral County Contacts: Nevada Department of Environmental Protection (775) 687-4670 x3024 Region 9 Brownfields Coordinator (415)774-2237 Visit the EPA Region 9 Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/region09/waste/brown/index.html For further information, including specific Pilot contacts, additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/brownfields ------- local economies. By encouraging stakeholders to take an active part in the redevelopment of idle properties and by attracting new interests to local commerce and tourism, the Nevada BCRLF can help to shape and expand economic diversification. Initially, the Nevada BCRLF will be utilized to forward the economic revitalization goals of Hawthorne's Targeted Brownfields Assessment project, consisting of 240 acres of the community's former landfill. This site is located in an approved redevelopment area, a portion of which is planned for an eighteen-hole regional golf course with adjacent homes. FUND STRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS The Nevada Department of Environmental Protection (NDEP), Bureau of Corrective Actions will serve as the cooperative agreement recipient and lead agency. The NDEP Superfund Supervisor and Brownfields Program Manager will serve as the brownfields site manager. The State plans to select an external organization as the fund manager. LEVERAGING OTHER RESOURCES This pilot will coordinate with existing funding sources and financial incentives to maximize the number of projects benefitting from Nevada's BCRLF. The NDEP commitment includes in-kind contributions in excess of $200,000, specifically utilizing the Department's highly trained Remediation Project Managers to complement the Superfund/Brownfields staff in lead agency and site manager activities. In addition, the Community of Hawthorne staff will contribute upwards of $ 175,000 in in-kind services by providing staff resources to assist potential borrowers. Developers may also take advantage of a relatively new Nevada law, wherein a water quality remediation district is created, and the costs of cleanup are divided among properties within the remediation district. Use of BCRLF Pilot funds must be in accordance with CERCLA, and all CERCLA restrictions on use of funding also apply to BCRLF funds. Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund Pilot April 2001 State of Nevada with Mineral County, NV EPA 500-F-01-239 ------- |