How LVLRI Helps
LVLRI provides access to various sources of state and federal financing for brownfield redevelopment in the Lehigh Valley. Since 2003, LVLRI was awarded $2 million through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Assessment program. These grants provide funding for environmental assessment activities at underutilized properties. In 2009 Lehigh and Northampton Counties were awarded supplemental funds for their EPA Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Funds. LVLRI completed the funding proposals to the EPA that resulted in this additional $1,200,000 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act or “Stimulus Funds”. LVLRI administers these loan funds in partnership with the counties, which provide low-interest financing for remediation activities at brownfield sites throughout the Lehigh Valley. To learn more about how LVLRI can help your company thrive contact Holly Edinger at 610.266.7179 or hedinger@lehighvalley.org.
EPA Brownfield Assessment Grant Program
• Eligibility: Potential developers and municipalities or non-profit property owners who did not cause contamination at the project site
• Uses: Phase I and II environmental assessments. Underutilized commercial, industrial or residential sites that may be contaminated with hazardous substances
• Funding: Up to $200,000 per site
• Terms: LVLRI currently administers one of these assessment grants for Lehigh and Northampton County. Technical assistance is provided by LVLRI contractors who are paid using grant funds
EPA Site Specific Clean-Up Program
• Eligibility: Public and non-profit entities who own a brownfield and will conduct clean-up work
• Uses: Remediation of hazardous substances. Underutilized commercial, industrial or residential sites where contamination is hindering redevelopment
• Funding: Capped at $200,000 per project
• Terms: Availability depends on Federal appropriations. Annual applications due in late fall. 20% match required
EPA Targeted Brownfields Assessment
• Eligibility: Public and non-profit entities who own a brownfield and need environmental assessment
• Uses: Environmental assessments for brownfield sites
• Funding: No cap. Based on amount of work that needs to be done
• Terms: Availability depends on Federal appropriations. Work can be done to benefit for-profit entities if project has proper economic and community benefits
EPA Brownfields Clean-Up Revolving Loan Fund
• Eligibility: Loans to for-profit property owners and potential developers who did not cause contamination at the project site. Subgrant may be available to nonprofit or municipal land owners who did not cause contamination at the project site
• Uses: Remediation of hazardous substances. Underutilized commercial, industrial or residential sites where contamination is hindering redevelopment
• Funding: Limited only by total available
• Terms: Low-or no-interest loans for cleanup. National Clean-up Plan standard. Davis Bacon Wages (prevailing wage). May be available through Lehigh or Northampton Counties
PA Industrial Sites Reuse Program (ISRP)
• Eligibility: Public entities, private nonprofit economic development entities, and companies involved in reuse of former industrial land; Entities that did not
cause or contribute to environmental contamination
• Uses: Phase I, II and III environmental assessments; remediation of hazardous substances
• Funding: Grants and loans up to $200,000 for environmental assessments; Grants and loans up to $1 million for remediation
• Terms: Interest rates of 2%; Terms up to 5 years for assessments and 15 years for remediation projects; A 25% match is required for grant and loan projects
PENNVEST Brownfield Redevelopment Funding
Low-interest loans for the remediation of sites that have been contaminated by past industrial or commercial activity and pose a threat to local groundwater or surface water sources.
• Eligibility: Applicants must be a unit of municipal or county government or an affiliated industrial or
economic development or redevelopment entity, such as an Industrial Development Authority or Corporation
(collectively referred to herein as “public entities”). A public entity may apply for financing on behalf of a private party, provided that either the public entity or the private party has an ownership interest in the property to be remediated
• Eligible Uses: Specific assessment and remediation activities on contaminated properties across the
Commonwealth. These activities must be related to a water quality benefit, which can include the prevention of contamination. The purpose of this brownfields
remediation financing initiative is to encourage the clean-up and reuse of contaminated properties while improving and protecting local water resources; Drinking water, wastewater and storm water infrastructure facilities are also eligible
• Ineligible Uses: Any construction activity not necessary for remediation or containment of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants released at the site, with the exception of water-related infrastructure facilities
• Funding: Loans up to $11 million per project for one municipality. Up to $20 million for projects that serve two or three municipalities. Amounts more than $20 million require a special vote of the PENNVEST Board of Directors, as do comprehensive projects that serve all or parts of four or more municipalities
• Terms and Conditions: The term of loans under this initiative is twenty years. Loan amortization will be on a monthly basis and will begin upon approval by the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) of the final report documenting attainment of clean-up standard(s) at the site pursuant to Act 2 or, if remediation is not required, upon receipt of a letter from DEP stating that no further action is required at the site. Interest rates on loans will be at the allowable county maximum rates, as defined in section 10(f) of the Act
HUD Brownfields Economic Development Initiative (BEDI)
• Eligibility: Government entities
• Eligible Uses: Commercial, industrial or residential projects benefiting low-income people or removing blight. Must be used in conjunction with a Section108 Loan
• Funding: Site Acquisition and Development Grants capped at $2 million per project
• Terms: Availability depends on Federal appropriations. Applications are due in July each year