Finding funds at the state level
Got a brownfield but lack the monetary means to tackle it?
All four Region 10 states are able to help organizations clean up brownfields by loaning out federal EPA money, but not every would-be developer is an eligible borrower because those funds are meant for public, nonprofit entities.
There are a myriad of other funding resources available, however, and the states can help potential developers find financing for a range of brownfields-related expenses beyond cleanup. Because when it comes to funding brownfields, every little bit does help.
The variety of sources
In some states, the programs are structured toward economic development, meaning jobs. That’s why economic development departments are heavily involved in brownfields redevelopment, or even act as the primary resource.
Depending on the type of project, the property owner and the type of financing sought, a number of economic development programs can help with costs. Both Washington and Oregon, for example, have a Special Public Works Fund and a Brownfields Redevelopment Fund. Oregon also has the Credit Enhancement Program and the Oregon Capital Assess Program. In addition, the state manages the EPA-funded Oregon Industrial Lands Assessment Initiative which helps private property owners put industrial lands back to use.
In Alaska, brownfields fall primarily under the jurisdiction of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Yet Alaska also has a Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development, and several targeted departments within that addressing a range of economic development interests and funding.
In Idaho, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the state’s six Economic Development Districts recently formed the Reuse Idaho Brownfields Coalition (RIBC). RIBC will offer loans and sub-grants to both public and private parties conducting brownfield cleanups.
Grants, bonds and tax incentives
Because brownfields are as much-if not more-about economic development as environmental cleanup, myriad other funding possibilities exist. All four states offer Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), for example. Grants aren’t intended for cleanup, but can be used to pay for the parts of a brownfields project that come after.
Washington also has a Remedial Action Grant Fund that a public entity can access as a contaminator or as a party willing to buy and clean up a contaminated property. In addition, the state has a resource database of grants available for everything from trails to parking lots. These might not sound like brownfield-related projects, but the grants could be applicable depending on the planned end-use.
Bonds are sometimes an option for cleanup if that cleanup leads to business development. Washington also has business loans for expansion onto a brownfield, and the Community Economic Revitalization Board which does not fund cleanup but does fund feasibility studies and commercial buildings. Federal and local tax incentives don’t fund brownfields projects, but can make such projects more financially appealing.
The Oregon and Washington brownfield programs have been around longer than Idaho’s and Alaska’s, hence the larger number of resources, yet all four states are equipped to assist property owners and potential developers, whether nonprofit or for-profit private parties.
Still, there’s no easy way to sum up all the funding options as they vary by state, by developer and by intended end use. And as the area of brownfields redevelopment—and the agencies that manage them—continues to mature, no doubt the funds and programs for supporting these efforts will mature too.
