State Loan Fund Wins $1.25 Million Grant for Brownfields Cleanups
April 10, 2008—Denver—The Colorado Department of
Public Health and Environment
will add $1.25 million to the state’s fund for environmental
cleanup
loans, thanks to a grant from the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency.
More than 200 cities, counties, state agencies and nonprofit
organizations competed for the EPA grants. The grant will
increase the Colorado Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund to
$7.45 million. Since its inception in 1999, the fund has
awarded $6.2
million in loans and subgrants for cleanup of
environmentally impaired
properties, called brownfields. A public-private
partnership, the fund
encourages brownfield cleanups of all sizes – from a
small-scale gas
station to multimillion-dollar cleanups of industrial sites.
In one
recent example, a loan cleared the way for mixed-use
redevelopment at
Belmar, in Lakewood. “The EPA grant provides more cleanup
funds for people to use to
assist in redeveloping brownfield properties,” said Dan
Scheppers,
brownfields coordinator in the department’s Hazardous
Materials and
Waste Management Division. “It will help respond to the high
demand
for cleanup projects across the state.” Ten loans have
been distributed statewide over the lifetime of the
fund. Property owners considering environmental cleanup
projects may
inquire about loan eligibility by calling Scheppers at
303-692-3398. The Colorado Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund
Coalition comprises the
cities of Denver, Englewood, Lakewood, Loveland, Westminster
and
Commerce City; as well as El Paso County; the Colorado
Housing and
Finance Authority; and the Colorado Department of Public
Health and
Environment. The Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment is
the coalition’s lead agency. The Colorado Housing and
Financing
Authority serves as fund manager. The fund provides
financing with reduced interest rates and more
flexible terms than a conventional lender can offer. Loans
are offered
to public, private and nonprofit entities statewide, but
cleanups
financed through the fund must gain prior approval under the
Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment’s Voluntary
Cleanup
Program.
--30-- |
