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Brownfields 2002 Revolving Loan Fund Pilot
Fact Sheet
New Mexico Environment Department
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
New Mexico is a large state with a relatively small
population (1.8 million). Almost half of the state's
residents live in small towns and rural areas. Urban areas
in the state have a poverty rate that is close to the national
average, but many of New Mexico's rural counties have
poverty rates approaching 35%. The state ranks 48th in
average per capita income. Historically, the state's
economy depended heavily on mining, oil and gas
production, and agriculture. High tech industries are now
being attracted to urban areas in the state, largely due to
the presence of Sandia and Los Alamos National
Laboratories. However, many small towns in New
Mexico were built around a major industrial facility that
subsequently closed, leaving contaminated property and
unemployment.
Rural and small municipal brownfields redevelopment
projects are often overlooked by private developers in
favor of more lucrative projects in larger urban settings.
The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED)
operates the state's Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP)
and there are five Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilots in the state. One of these pilots, the
City of Deming, has performed an assessment of its Peru
Hill Mill site and is now considering a BCRLF loan for
cleanup. Deming is typical of the small communities in
Pilot Snapshot
Date of Announcement: 05/01/2002
Amount: $1,000,000
Profile: Sites throughout the State of New Mexico,
with emphasis on small towns and rural areas
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 6 Brownfields Team
(214) 665-6780
EPA Region 6 Brownfields Web site
(http ://www .epa.gov/region6/brownfields)
Grant Recipient: New Mexico Environment
Department
(505) 827-2754
Objectives
The goal of New Mexico's BCRLF Pilot is to provide
small municipalities with the necessary capital to clean
up contaminated properties and encourage appropriate
redevelopment to benefit the community. Because of its
rural nature, most of the interest in brownfields in the
state is from municipalities. Many brownfields in
smaller communities are reused for parks, community
centers, or recreation. BCRLF funding will provide
valuable cleanup dollars and incentives for private
investment in the many small communities of the state.
Properties throughout the state will be eligible for
BCRLF loans. Priority will be given to underserved and
economically challenged areas in the state. Projects will
be selected based on the public benefits of potential
projects. The BCRLF Pilot will assist municipalities
develop partnerships with the private sector.
Activities
Fund Structure and Operations
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 500-F-02-006
May 02

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due to the presence of brownfields. The New Mexico
Environment Department is committed to using Deming
as an example of what can be achieved in a small
community when the appropriate resources are made
available.
The New Mexico Environment Department is the
cooperative agreement recipient and will serve as the
lead agency and site manager. The Construction
Programs Bureau of the New Mexico Environment
Department will serve as the fund manager.
Low-interest loans available from the Clean Water State
Revolving Loan Fund are available for brownfields site
cleanups if a site is contributing to water pollution.
Other potential sources of funds include U.S. Economic
Development Administration grants, U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development Brownfields
Economic Development grants, and U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers in-kind services. BCRLF funds will be used
to stimulate additional private funding for brownfields
cleanup and redevelopment.
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	c
Environmental	anri Fmpflpn™	EPA 500-F-02-006
j. j.- a	ancl Emergency	.. __
Protection Agency	Response (5105T)	MaV02
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