ATLANTA - Today the E.P.A. (EPA) announced $300,000 in supplemental backing to help transform communities in South Carolina by cleaning up contaminated Brownfields properties.
Supplemental backing of the Revolving Loan Backing (RLF) will be given to 31 successful RLF grantees nation-wide helping 44 communities carry out cleanup and redevelopment projects.
These plans will help communities create jobs while protecting people's health and the environment. Many of the RLF cleanups are in under-served and economically disadvantages neighborhoods - places where environmental cleanup and new jobs are most needed.
"These funds - granted to communities who have already achieved success in their work to clean up and redevelop brownfields - will help boost local economies, create local jobs and protect people from harmful pollution by expediting Brownfield projects," said Mathy Stanislaus, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. "The RLF supplemental recipients are some of the nation's top performers. Collectively, these communities have already leveraged in excess of $5 billion in clean up and redevelopment investment - the RLF Backing announced today will help sustain that incredible progress."
The RLF grantees provide a level of Backing for cleanups that isn't accessible through traditional financing options or through other brownfield grants, serving as the critical gap financing needed to jump-start the redevelopment process. RLF Backing is often the last key piece of Backing needed to make the cleanup and reuse of the property happen. RLFs specifically supply Backing for loans and sub-grants to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites. When these 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 Backing to each grantee ranges from about $250,000 to $700,000.
E.P.A. continues to engage and help new communities address barriers to redeveloping sites which are plaguing their communities. All of the grantees selected for Backing have significantly depleted their RLF funds and need supplemental Backing 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.
The grantees receiving supplemental Backing this year continue to demonstrate a high-level of preparedness to undertake specific shovel ready plans and have the committed leveraged funds necessary to move plans forward.
There are an estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated sites in the United States. EPA's Brownfields plan targets these sites to encourage redevelopment, and help to provide the opportunity for productive community use of contaminated properties. Since the inception of the EPA's Brownfields Plan in 1995, cumulative brownfield Plan investments have leveraged in excess of $23.3 billion from a variety of public and private sources for cleanup and redevelopment activities. This equates to an average of $17.79 leveraged per E.P.A. brownfield dollar expended. These investments have resulted in approximately 109,787 jobs nationwide.
More information on EPA's Brownfields program:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
More information on Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund grants:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/rlflst.htm
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www.facebook.com/eparegion4
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