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News Releases from Region 01

EPA Awards $4.3 Million in Supplemental Revolving Loan Funds to Clean up Contaminated Brownfields Sites in New England

09/23/2015
Contact Information: 
David Deegan (deegan.dave@epa.gov)
617-918-1017

BOSTON - EPA has provided additional grants of $4.3 million in revolving loan fund (RLF) supplemental funding for communities in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont to carry out cleanup and redevelopment projects at contaminated Brownfields properties. The projects will help communities create jobs while protecting people's health and the environment.

The supplemental funds will support an array of cleanup and redevelopment projects in the following New England locations:

Connecticut

  • City of Bridgeport - $400,000
  • REX Development - $250,000

Maine

  • Maine Dept. of Economic & Community Development - $700,000
  • Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission - $500,000

Massachusetts

  • City of Somerville - $300,000
  • Berkshire Regional Planning Commission - $500,000

Vermont

  • Southern Windsor County Regional Planning Commission - $250,000
  • Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development - $700,000
  • Northwest Regional Planning Commission - $200,000
  • Windham Regional Commission - $500,000

"This EPA funding will go to communities with a proven track record for successfully cleaning up and redeveloping local brownfield sites. EPA's Brownfields program here in New England has a long history of helping to boost local economies, creating skilled well-paying local jobs, all while protecting people's health and our communities," said Curt Spalding, regional administrator for EPA's New England office. "The grantees receiving supplemental funding this year continue to demonstrate a high-level of preparedness to undertake specific shovel ready projects and have the committed leveraged funds necessary to move projects forward."

The $4.3 million announced today in the four New England states is part of approximately $13.2 million nationally EPA has made available for supplemental brownfield funding under EPA's Brownfields revolving loan fund (RLF). Across the U.S., supplemental RLF funding will be given to 31 successful RLF grantees helping 44 communities carry out cleanup and redevelopment projects. Many of the RLF cleanups are in under-served and economically disadvantages neighborhoods - places where environmental cleanup and new jobs are most needed.

EPA's Brownfields RLF funding enables grant recipients to provide loans and sub-grants to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites. The RLF grantees provide a level of funding for cleanups that isn't available through traditional financing options or through other brownfield grants, serving as the critical gap financing needed to jump-start the redevelopment process. RLF funding is often the last key piece of funding needed to make the cleanup and reuse of the property happen. When RLF loans are repaid, the loan amount is then returned to the fund and re-loaned to other borrowers, providing an ongoing sustainable source of capital within a community for additional cleanup of brownfield sites. The supplemental funding to each grantee ranges from about $250,000 to $700,000.

EPA continues to engage and help new communities address barriers to redeveloping sites which are plaguing their communities. All of the grantees selected for funding have significantly depleted their RLF funds and need supplemental funding in order to recapitalize their loan pool to continue making loans and subgrants to clean up brownfields properties. The supplemental funds help keep the cleanup momentum going so that more cleanups can be completed. To date, RLF grantees have completed over 400 cleanups, leveraged approximately 15,000 jobs and over $5 billion of public and private funding.

Nationally, there are an estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated sites in the United States. EPA's Brownfields program targets these sites to encourage redevelopment, and help to provide the opportunity for productive community use of contaminated properties. EPA's Brownfields investments overall have leveraged more than $23.3 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funding from public and private sources and on average, $17.79 is leveraged for every EPA Brownfields grant dollar spent. These investments have resulted in approximately 109,787 jobs nationwide.

More information:

NOTE: Sept. 29, 2015: minor edits made to clarify nature of RLF grants