United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-01-249
April 2001
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
vvEPA
Brownfields Cleanup
Revolving Loan Fund Pilot
Sioux City, IA
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
Sioux City was once the commercial center of the
Upper Missouri River region. Much of the economic
activity in Sioux City was related to the processing and
distribution of livestock and was centered in an area
known as "the Yards," which is a low-lying, 215-acre
tract of land near the confluence of the Floyd and
Missouri Rivers. In the 1920s, the Sioux City Yards
was recognized as one of the world's largest stockyards
and was the center of the Midwest livestock trade.
Since the 1950s, however, the area has been in decline,
primarily due to changes in the livestock industry.
Several large meatpacking plants left Sioux City in the
1970s and 1980s. Since then, the per capita income has
fallen, poverty rates have increased, and housing units
have been left abandoned.
Today, a few viable packing plants remain active in the
area. However, many businesses have closed, leaving
derelict buildings, abandoned livestock pens, and
underutilized rail lines. High levels of unemployment
and poverty prevail in the surrounding areas, which
have been designated as State Enterprise Zones.
Recently, Sioux City spent approximately $1.5 million
to remove many of the former meat packing buildings
that were vacant and dilapidated.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Sioux City, IA
Date of Announcement:
April 2001
Amount: $1.0 million
BCRLF Target Area:
Sites throughout Sioux
City, especially the old
stockyard area
Contacts:
Community & Economic Development
Division Manager
(712)279-6345
Region 7 Brownfields
Coordinator
(913)551-7593
Visit the EPA Region 7 Brownfields web site at:
www.epa.gov/region07/brownfields/
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
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BCRLF OBJECTIVES
The Sioux City BCRLF program will provide critical
gap financing for brownfields cleanup of the Yards and
other brownfields sites within Sioux City. The cleanup
of Sioux City's brownfields is the first step towards
redevelopment. Eventually, the City hopes that
brownfields redevelopment will foster the creation and
retention of quality businesses, create living wage jobs,
expand the tax base, and prevent urban sprawl.
The focus of the Sioux City BCRLF program is on the
cleanup of the stockyards area, now known as the
Yards Biotech, Business, & Industrial Park. To date,
Sioux City has identified seven potential borrowers.
The Yards' proximity to rivers, railroads, and highways
makes the area an ideal location for redevelopment.
FUND STRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS
The City of Sioux City is the cooperative agreement
recipient and will serve as the lead agency, site
manager, and fund manager.
LEVERAGING OTHER RESOURCES
The City has budgeted more than $ 15 million for the
revitalization and redevelopment of the Yards. Along
with the BCRLF funds, the City will attract
additional federal funding from the Department of
Housing and Urban Development in the form of
Community Development Block Grants. Available
state and local funding sources include the Sales Tax
Economic Development Fund, Tax Increment
Financing, Property Tax Exemptions, and the tax
advantages implicit in the Enterprise Zone
designation. Funding from private organizations,
such as the Siouxland Economic Development
Corporation, the Siouxland Initiative, and
MidAmerican Energy Corp., will also be made
available.
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
Sioux City, I A
EPA 500-F-01-249
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