Brownfields Cleanup Revolving
Loan Fund Pilot Fact Sheet

Emeryville, CA

EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower states, communities, and other stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and an active potential for redevelopment or reuse. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup and redevelopment models; job training pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities affected by brownfields to facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and prepare trainees for future employment in the environmental field; and, cleanup revolving loan fund programs (each funded up to $500,000 over five years) to capitalize loan funds to make loans for the environmental cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs are intended to provide EPA, states, tribes, municipalities, and communities with useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods to promote a unified approach to site assessment, environmental cleanup, and redevelopment.

PILOT SNAPSHOT
Date of Announcement: May 25, 1999 Amount: $500,000
BCRLF Target Area: The Hollis Street, Park Avenue, and San Pablo Avenue Corridor areas; and brownfields citywide

BACKGROUND

Emeryville, California is burdened with substantial soil and groundwater contamination, left behind with the loss of its industrial base. The result is abandoned buildings and industrial sites, dilapidation of the physical environment, poverty, and unemployment. Brownfields are scattered throughout the City, with 20 percent of the City's non-residential property vacant and 40 percent underutilized. Most of Emeryville's poor reside in East Emeryville, which includes the BCRLF target areas (i.e., Hollis Street, Park Avenue, and the San Pablo Avenue Corridors). The median income in these areas is lower than the rest of the City. The target areas also are home to predominantly more minority residents than the rest of Emeryville. The City was designated a Brownfields Assessment Pilot in 1996. Emeryville's BCRLF (CIERRA, Capital Incentives for Emeryville's Redevelopment and Restoration) will be included in Emeryville's overall brownfields program.

BCRLF OBJECTIVES

The City proposes to make CIERRA (BCRLF) loans available citywide, with preference given to the target areas and preferred project types (i.e., smaller sites in less developed areas). CIERRA will be used for several BCRLF activities including: site control measures; drainage and dust control; capping of soils; in-situ remediation; excavation consolidation, removal, or disposal of highly contaminated soils; removal of containers with hazardous materials; and, where necessary, one year of groundwater monitoring.

FUND STRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS

The City of Emeryville will serve as lead agency and fund manager. The City will designate a site manager for the BCRLF. The duties of the fund manager will be divided into four tasks: program development; marketing; underwriting; and loan administration. It is anticipated that 10 loans will be made in the first round of BCRLF loans. The City is investigating use of cost cap insurance for brownfields cleanup projects under the CIERRA.

LEVERAGING

A portion of CIERRA funds will be used to serve as loan guarantees, particularly for the larger projects, and be supplemented by other local, state, and federal funds. The City of Oakland's Enterprise Zone was recently expanded into Emeryville and the target areas are within redevelopment project areas, which allows the City's Redevelopment Agency to use tax increment proceeds for area improvements and for direct assistance to developers. The City also will encourage borrowers to consider eligibility under the Federal Brownfields Tax Incentive program.

Use of BCRLF Pilot funds must be in accordance with CERCLA, and all CERCLA restrictions on use of funding also apply to BCRLF funds.

CONTACTS

City of Emeryville
(510) 596-4356

Region 9 Brownfields Coordinator
(415) 744-2237

Visit the EPA Region 9 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/brown/index.html

For further information, including specific Pilot contacts, additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/

United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460

Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)

EPA 500-F-99-067
May 1999

Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101)

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Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund Pilot Fact Sheet