Fiscal Year 2020
Process and Considerations for Supplemental Funding
for Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund Grants

Limited funds may be available to supplement existing Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) grantees
that have made loan(s) and/or subaward(s) and substantially depleted their pool of loan funds. Eligible
RLF grantees are limited to current grantees awarded under CERCLA Section 104(k) and those originally
awarded under CERCLA Section 104(d) that have transitioned a grant(s) to Section 104(k) as provided in
Section 104(k)(3)(D). RLF grantees applying for supplemental funding must address the considerations
identified in Part III, below. EPA reserves the right to reject all requests and make no awards.

I.	Background

Section 104(k) of the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act (Pub. L. No.

107-118) (Brownfields Law) includes a provision for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) to, among other things:

•	award grants to eligible entities to be used to capitalize Revolving Loan Funds (RLFs) and
provide subawards for brownfields cleanup;

•	make an additional grant to RLF grantees for any year after the year for which the initial grant
is made (noncompetitive RLF supplemental funding).

II.	Process

Notification of Supplemental Funding Availability

•	A Federal Register Notice informing RLF grantees of the general availability of RLF
supplemental funding was published March 9, 2020. Eligible grantees will be notified of the
availability of RLF supplemental funding for Fiscal Year 2020 by Regional RLF Staff. In
addition, information regarding the availability of RLF supplemental funding has been posted
on the EPA Brownfields website at https://www.epa.gov/brown fields.

Requests for Supplemental Funding

•	Fiscal Year 2020 RLF supplemental funding decisions will be based upon specified
considerations defined in Part III below. The requester of supplemental funding must be the
cooperative agreement recipient of an open RLF grant. Submittals should note the dollar
amount requested for each type of funding available. Due to high demand and limited
resources, supplemental funding awards are generally between $200,000 and $500,000, in
total.

•	To be eligible for supplemental funding, grantees must demonstrate that they have
significantly depleted funds (both EPA grant funding and any available program income) and
that they have a clear plan for quickly utilizing requested additional funds. Program income
refers to the funds generated or earned by all open and closed RLF grants, including principal
repayments, interest earned on outstanding loan principal, interest earned on accounts holding
RLF program income, loan fees and loan-related charges received from borrowers, and other
income generated from RLF operations. Grantees must also demonstrate that they have made

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at least one loan or subgrant prior to applying for this supplemental funding and have
significantly depleted existing available funds.

•	For FY2020, EPA defines "significantly depleted funds" for most grantees as the balance of
uncommitted, available funding being 25% or less of total RLF funds awarded under all open
and closed grants and cannot exceed $600,000, with the following exception. Exception 1:
RLF grantees that have only received one RLF grant of $1 million dollars or less and that also
have also never received supplemental funding, may have an uncommitted balance of up to
$300,000. For calculation of the uncommitted balance, see Section III, below. For the
purposes of this requirement, committed refers to funding designated for loans or subawards
that have been approved through the applicant's decision process (e.g., board or committee);
unreimbursed costs for a cleanup that is completed or underway; and, estimated costs for
personnel, travel, contracts or other programmatic costs necessary to maintain the RLF.

•	A request for supplemental funding must be in the form of a letter addressed to your Regional
Brownfields Coordinator with a copy to Rachel Congdon, U.S. EPA Headquarters, at

conedon.rachel@epa.eov and Rachel Lentz, U.S. EPA Headquarters, at lentz.rachel@epa.eov.

•	The letter must include the information identified in Part III, below.

Regional Input on Requests

•	EPA Regions will review request letters from RLF grantees. The Regions will screen the
request for eligibility and submit an evaluation of the request to the EPA Office of Brownfields
and Land Revitalization as it relates to the considerations in Part III below.

Deadlines

•	Request letters must be postmarked or submitted via email to your Regional Brownfields
Coordinator by April 8, 2020. If an RLF grantee is not able to submit their request by this
deadline, they may have opportunities to apply for supplemental funding in a future year,
subject to funding availability.

Selection/Award

•	Upon selection by the Assistant Administrator of the Office of Land and Emergency
Management (OLEM), award of supplemental funds will be made by the Regional
Administrator, or other delegated regional award official.

•	Upon selection to receive an award of supplemental funds, RLF grantees will be required to
work with EPA Regions to amend existing cooperative agreements, work plans, and follow
applicable grants.gov (IGMS) procedures.

III. Considerations

In addition to the depletion of funds, supplemental funding requests will be evaluated on the quality

and extent to which the grantee's RLF program reflects the following considerations:

1) A number of imminent and potential projects in the RLF program pipeline, demonstrating the
program's ability to make loans and subgrants for cleanups that can be started and completed,
as well as quickly lead to redevelopment;

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2)	The ability to administer, preserve, and revolve the capitalization funding in the RLF grant;

3)	The ability to use the RLF grant to address funding gaps for cleanup; and

4)	Community benefits from past and potential loan(s) and/or subgrant(s).

EPA encourages innovative approaches to maximizing revolving and leveraging with other funds,
including use of grants funds as a loan loss guarantee, combining with other government or private
sector lending resources.

EPA may also consider relevant information from other sources including information from EPA files
and/or from other federal or non-federal grantors to verify or supplement information provided by the
applicant.

IV. Content of Supplemental Request

Grantees requesting supplemental funding must provide sufficient information to demonstrate the
eligibility for supplemental funding and to allow for evaluation of the considerations above. The
request must, therefore, include the following information.

1. A demonstration of the significant depletion of funds. To demonstrate the grantee's eligibility
for supplemental funding, the request shall include:

A. Number of completed loans and/or subgrants.

• Consider using the following table:

Subrecipient

Loan/Subgrant

Award
Amount

Award
Date

Repayment
Period Length

Interest Rate

For Loans, Has
Repayment
Begun











































B. Amount of Available Funding and Current Commitments:

•	Total amount of RLF funds awarded under all open and closed grants.

•	Total amount of program income generated under all open and closed grants.

•	Amount of unspent grant funding from all open RLF grants1.

•	Amount of available or unspent accrued program income from all open and closed
grants.

•	Amount of current commitments to loans, subawards, and programmatic costs (do
not include the expenses that have already been drawn from grant funding).

C. The total amount of uncommitted funds based on the following formula:

Uncommitted Funding = Unspent Grant Funding* + Unspent Program Income (PI)

- Committed Funds.

1 Total Grant Funding includes monetary cost share.

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* Please consult with the appropriate Region for the amount of unspent grant funds
reported in the EPA's Financial Management System. Unspent Grant Funding includes any
unspent monetary cost share.

D. A list of projects and associated costs that demonstrate the current funding commitments,
associated leveraging, and anticipated outcomes.

The list should account for your total committed funds amount listed above and include, at
minimum, the following information: project name, location, form of commitment (loan,
subgrant, or combination of the two), the dollar amount, project status (current status and
projected timeline for completion of project), the amounts and sources of associated
leveraged funding and whether the funding is firm (secured), and other anticipated
outcomes (including anticipated reuse of property, the estimated number of cleanup and
redevelopment jobs that will be created, and other anticipated outcomes that have a direct
benefit to the community). Table 1 below provides examples of the level of information
required for this demonstration.

2.	A list of imminent and potential projects in your pipeline that are most likely to use the
requested funding to demonstrate the likelihood that the supplemental funding will be used
expeditiously, lead to preservation of the fund, promote reuse of sites, and provide
community benefits. Include, at minimum, the following information: project name, location,
form of anticipated commitment (loan, subaward or other), the estimated dollar amount, project
status and projected timeline for completion of project, the amounts and sources of leveraged
funding and whether the funding is firm (secured), and other anticipated outcomes (including
anticipated reuse of property, the estimated number of cleanup and redevelopment jobs that will be
created, and other anticipated outcomes that have a direct benefit to the community). Table 2
below provides examples of the level of information required for this demonstration.

3.	A summary of major RLF accomplishments for projects where 100% of the associated RLF
funding has been expended to further demonstrate the grantee's ability to award and
manage loans/subgrants, preserve the fund, successfully promote reuse of sites, and provide
community benefits. The summary shall include, at minimum, the number of loans and number
of subawards made, total amount of program income, number of ongoing cleanups, number of
cleanups completed, and the significant outcomes to date (including leveraged cleanup and
redevelopment funding, cleanup and redevelopment jobs created, number of properties reused and
other outcomes that have a direct benefit to the community). [Note: Your regional lead will
confirm that appropriate accomplishments are reported in ACRES.]

4.	A discussion of the management of the RLF to demonstrate the grantee's ability to (1)
comply with the requirements of the current grant(s) workplan(s), the administrative and
programmatic terms and conditions of the grant, and, if applicable, closeout agreement
requirements for closed grants; (2) implement prudent lending practices, and (3) sustain and
revolve the RLF. Include at minimum information regarding the timeliness of submission of
required reports and work products (including Quarterly Performance Reports and ACRES data),
completion of critical work plan tasks, the grantee's RLF loan review and approval process, and
other information that further supports this demonstration.

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Table 1

Sample Format and Examples for Committed Funds

(supplement as appropriate using additional rows or text)

Project Name

Location

Amount ($) and
Form of
commitment (Loan,
Subaward, or Other)

Status/Timeline

Firm Leveraging
Commitments and
Estimated Leveraging

Anticipated Reuse
and Outcomes

E.g., Site A

City of

Wherever,

State

$300,000 Loan

Executed RLF loan, cleanup
underway and anticipated to be
complete by end of summer
2019, redevelopment spring of
2020

Firm: $300,000 of private
funding escrowed by
private party for cleanup.
County Parks and Rec has
approved plan and
committed to upkeep and
maintenance of complex.
Potential: Up to $500,000
from national sports
organization.

Cleanup of former
landfill, expected
reuse as a sports
complex, creating 1
full time and 3 part-
time jobs.

E.g., Site B

Unincorpora
ted County
of Anyplace,
State

$200,000 Subaward

Approval from City Council;
Subaward to be executed in Fall
2019 & cleanup in Spring 2020.

Firm: $500,000 for
cleanup and

redevelopment from local
health organization;
Potential: HUD Funding
for affordable housing

Cleanup of abandoned
hospital, affordable
housing, 2 full-time
jobs and the ability for
aging residents to
remain within
neighborhood.

Programmatic
Costs for Sites A
& B and
management of
RLF

Not

Applicable

$10,000 Personnel

$10,000

Environmental

Professional

Contract

$10,000 Fund

Manager Agreement

Internal set-aside for personnel,
contract and MOA with fund
manager. To be expended
during cleanup of sites A & B
and on an ongoing basis for
management of program
income.



Successful
implementation of
RLF, Preservation of
the RLF funds

Total of Committed Funds

$530,000



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Table 2

Sample Format and Examples for Potential Projects

(supplement as appropriate using additional rows or text)

Project Name

Location

Form of commitment

(Loan, Sub award or
Other);
Estimated Amount ($)

Status/Timeline

Firm Leveraging
Commitments
and Estimated
Leveraging

Anticipated Reuse
and Outcomes

E.g., Site D

City/Town,
State

$500,000 Loan

Developer has completed cleanup
planning and is preparing RLF
application. Anticipated schedule
starting from date of supplemental
award (12 months total):
Application Submittal, Approval
and Processing (3 months);

Cleanup (1 month); Redevelopment
Complete within 8 months.

Firm: $1,000,000
from developer

Nursing Home
allowing elderly to
remain within their
community and
creating 30 jobs for
both skilled and
unskilled workers.

E.g., Site E

City/Town,
State

$100,000 Subaward

Local non-profit submitted a
preliminary application. Final
Anticipated schedule starting from
date of supplemental award:
Application submittal (4th Quarter
FY19); approval, processing and
cleanup (1st Quarter, FY20);
Cleanup (2nd Quarter, FY20);
Redevelopment Complete (by end
of FY20.

Potential: up to
$200,000 from
State DOT

New bike path and
greenspace to
improve the quality
of life for
community
residents.

Programmatic
Costs for Sites
A & B and
management of
RLF

City/Town,
State

$5,000 Personnel
$5,000 Environmental
Professional Contract
$5,000 Fund Manager
Agreement

Internal set-aside for estimated
personnel, environmental contract
and MO A with fund manager. To
be expended during cleanup of sites
A & B and on an ongoing basis for
management of program income.

Additional
Personnel Costs
from City

Compliance with
Award Conditions
and Revolve of
Funds



Total

$615,000







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