United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response(5101)
EPA 500-F-99-029
May 1999
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
&EPA Brownfields Cleanup
Revolving Loan Fund Pilot
Boston, MA
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101)
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
upto $200,000 overtwo 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 brownfieldstofacilitatecleanupofbrownfieldssites and preparetrainees for future employmentintheenvironmental
field; and, cleanup revolving loan fund programs (each funded up to $500,000 over five years) to capitalize loan funds
to make loans 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
As a large urban city with an industrial history, Boston
is known as the economic hub of New England.
However, the city also has its fair share of
unemployment, poverty, abandoned land, and
environmental problems. As industries have been
phased out of the city and moved to the suburban
greenfields, parts of Boston have been left littered
with abandoned and vacant properties. These former
industrial properties are often not redeveloped due to
fears of real or perceived environmental contamination.
One such area that will be the focus of the Boston
BCRLF is the city' s Enhanced Enterprise Community
(EEC), a 5.8 square mile area that runs north to south
in the center of the city. The poverty rate in the EEC
is 36 percent and the unemployment rate is 16 percent.
More than 80 percent of the city's minority residents
live in the EEC.
BCRLFOBJECTIVES
Initially, the Pilot will target loans for five community-
selected priority sites in the EEC that range in size
from 25,000 square feet to nine acres of land. The
BCRLF Pilot will be used in collaboration with key
urban resources offered by the EEC to cleanup and
redevelop property, to encourage sustainable
PILOTSNAPSHOT
Boston, Massachusetts
Date of Award:
September 1997
Amount: $350,000
BCRLF Target Area :
Boston's federally-
designated Enhanced
Enterprise Community.
Contacts:
City of Boston
(617)722-4300
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 1
(617)918-1209
Visit the EPA Region 1 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region01/remed/brnfld/
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:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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development, and to increase the city's tax base and
create jobs.
FUNDSTRUCTUREANDOPERATIONS
Two city entities, the Economic Development and
Industrial Corporation (EDIC) and the Environmental
Department, will partner as the Lead Agency to
ensure that the loans and cleanups are conducted in
compliance with the terms of the cooperative
agreement. The city's Public Facilities Department
will serve as the Site Manager to oversee cleanups at
project sites. The Boston Local Development
Corporation (BLDC), a non-profit corporation, will
act as the Fund Manager and implement the loan
fund.
Threshold criteria for borrower eligibility include:
completed site assessment and cleanup alternative
evaluation; demonstrated evidence of financial need,
collateral, and equity; demonstrated good standing on
city and state taxes (i.e., not in delinquency); property
is located in or near the EEC. In addition, sites that
demonstrate an overall community benefit (e.g.,
through job creation or retention, economic/
environmental revitalization) will be given a preference
for the BCRLF loans. Loan amounts will be determined
on a case-by-case basis, but will range from
approximately $5,000 to $50,000. The city has a
preference to provide smaller loans so that the BCRLF
will have a greater impact in the targeted area. All
loans will be secured by a security agreement covering
all assets of the borrower (e.g., perfected mortgages,
personal guarantees).
LEVERAGINGOTHERRESOURCES
The BCRLF will be used in conjunction with other
funds to produce maximum community empowerment
and revitalization. Within the EEC, up to $44 million
is available in loans, grants, job training, and technical
assistance for both small and large businesses.
Use of BCRLF Pilot funds must be in accordance with
CERCLA, andallCERCLA restrictions on use of funding
also apply to BCRLF funds.
Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund Pilot Boston, Massachusetts
May 1999 EPA500-F-99-029
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