Brownfields 1999 Revolving Loan Fund Pilot
I Fact Sheet
%PROl*/ Wayne County, Ml
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
Wayne County, Michigan is characterized by an
economy dominated by the vehicle manufacturing
industry. It is the center of the industrial heartland of the
United States, with approximately 46.5 square miles used
for manufacturing. As a result, when this industry
suffers, Wayne County's economy suffers. Past
depressions in this industry, and the scaling back of
manufacturing in general, have contributed to
approximately 2,000 documented brownfields in the
County. Closed plants and contaminated property, along
with illegal dumps and closed landfills, dot the older
urban communities of the County. Approximately
twenty-five percent of all Wayne County residents live in
poverty. For children under 18, the poverty rate jumps to
41.5 percent.
Pilot Snapshot
Date of Announcement: 05/25/1999
Amount: $500,000
Profile: All of Wayne County, with a focus on six
suburbs surrounding the City of Detroit
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: Wayne County, MI
(313)224-5025
Objectives
The BCRLF pilot will target all of Wayne County, with
a focus on the following distressed communities:
Hamtramck, Highland Park, Ecorse, River Rouge,
Inkster, and Melvindale. The pilot anticipates that the
BCRLF will spur the revitalization of vacant or
underutilized properties. It is expected that this will help
create new jobs and increase the tax base in some of the
County's most distressed communities. Potential
borrowers include a mix of public and private entities,
including local businesses, community-based
organizations, cities/townships, and community
development corporations. By providing loans to private
businesses, the BCRLF will complement other
brownfields funds available only to the public sector.
Activities
Fund Structure and Operations
The Wayne County Brownfields Redevelopment
Authority will serve as lead agency and the County's
Planning Division will serve as site manager. The
United States	c
Environmental	anri Fmpflpn™	EPA 500-F-99-094
j. j.- a	ancl Emergency	..
Protection Agency	Response (5105T)	MaV99
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Metropolitan Growth & Development Corporation
(MGDC) will serve as the fund manager. Through
MGDC, the County has originated over 70 loans,
resulting in a proven track record, a broad base of
community support, and the necessary institutional
structure for the BCRLF program. Loans will range in
size from $50,000 to $300,000, with an initial interest
rate of 6 percent that may be reduced to 3 to 4 percent to
be competitive with non-brownfields redevelopment
loans.
An additional $458,000 of public and private investment
has been leveraged. Other sources of funds available to
brownfields sites in the County that will complement the
BCRLF include: Tax increment financing; MGDC
financing programs, including the Urban Loan Fund and
Small Business Administration revolving loan funds;
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality
(MDEQ) site reclamation grant and loan programs;
MDEQ State Revolving Fund for water pollution
control projects; the Clean Michigan Initiative for
brownfields cleanup; and a ten percent tax credit to
private corporations for investment in brownfields
projects.
Use of BCRLF Pilot funds must be in accordance with
CERCLA, and all CERCLA restrictions on use of
funding also apply to BCRLF funds.
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
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
Solid Waste
EPA 500-F-99-094
May 99

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