Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division
Colorado Brownfields
Colorado Brownfields Handbook
See also Voluntary Cleanup
Program
Program Overview
Abandoned gas stations, industrial facilities, and other potentially
contaminated properties affect communities across Colorado. Because of
perceived risk to human health and the environment and concerns over liability,
these brownfield sites often remain blighted land, forgotten in plain view.
Redevelopers fear that their involvement will become costly and time-consuming,
so the sites languish, hindering economic and community development.
But it doesn't have to be that way.
Properties that sit untouched because of their real or perceived
contamination can be rehabilitated using the Colorado Department of Public
Health and Environment's Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCUP). The program
provides public and private property owners with the resources to facilitate
cleanups as well as assurances against regulatory enforcement. It's a way
to get both federal and state remedial plans approved in a one-stop shop.
Under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, property owners prepare and submit a
cleanup plan to program staff. Within 45 days, a state voluntary cleanup
specialist assesses whether the plan will adequately protect nearby human health
and the environment, based on the site's contaminant levels and proposed land
use. Cleanup begins once the state accepts the plan. It is up to the
property owner, using an environmental professional, to self-certify that
cleanup is complete and the plan's goals have been met.
"Banks are our best friends," says voluntary cleanup specialist Mark Walker.
"They won't lend money without a letter from the state acknowledging clean
property." Since banks are often involved in property transfers, their
concerns of environmental liability send them in search of assurance that the
state or EPA won't order a costly, conventional cleanup. A "No Further
Action" letter from the Voluntary Cleanup Program does the trick.
In addition to cleanup plan reviews, the program offers assistance to
brownfield properties in the form of environmental site assessments,
tax
credits, revolving loans and up to $250,000 a year in statewide project funding.
Usually given to public or non-profit groups, the programs' environmental
site assessments provide better understanding of the environmental conditions
affecting a property. Assessments help assuage community fears, showing
that problematic sites often are easier to redevelop than originally thought.
Tax credits, revolving loans and funding grants all help property owners
finance their cleanup. With these tools, property owners have the
flexibility for innovative technological approaches.
Since its 1994 inception, the program has facilitated transformation of more
than 500 sites, from gold tailings piles in Colorado Springs to a decaying
Lakewood mall. Success stories give a peek into the wide variety of sites
that undergo voluntary cleanup.
Treatment technologies and land use controls - overseen by Program staff -
help owners shift perceptions of their environmentally impacted properties.
Thus, the program enables the market to induce its own cleanup. For
example, once the Central Platte Valley's property values shot up in the early
2000s, a stream of remediation applications inundated the voluntary cleanup
staff. It's an accelerating cycle: cleaned land increases
surrounding property values, in turn giving neighbors incentives to clean their
land for redevelopment.
Streamlined use of state time and resources helps private owners turn
contaminated sites into properties protecting human health and the environment.
The Voluntary Cleanup Program allows sites like old gas stations and
abandoned landfills to quit festering as blighted property. Instead,
they're hot real estate.
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What is a ...
Brownfield: A brownfield site is real property, the expansion,
redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential
presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.
Qualified Environmental Professional: After the state
health department accepts a Voluntary Cleanup Plan, it becomes the
owner's responsibility to perform the cleanup and verify its
completion. The Voluntary Cleanup Program requires that the
owner use a "qualified environmental professional" to verify that
the remedial action has fulfilled the cleanup plan.
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Brownfields Site Assessments
Brownfields sites - with or without contamination - are often ready for
development, but people may view them as problems to avoid. By giving a
more accurate picture of the extent (or lack thereof) of site contamination, the
Brownfields Assessment Program helps communities revitalize land perceived to be
a drain on the local economy. The program is available for public
and non-profit groups who are interested in better understanding the
environmental issues potentially hindering redevelopment of property.
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment personnel, with the
assistance of qualified contractors, will conduct an environmental assessment
using record research and collection and sample analysis. Preferential
assistance is given to groups who already have redevelopment goals in place for
a specific site and where those goals provide a clear public benefit (e.g., job
creation, enhancement of the tax base, creation of a public amenity).
Application
Guidelines for State of Colorado Targeted Brownfields Assessment
or Voluntary Cleanup Assistance
For further information, contact:
Mark Rudolph (303) 692-3311
Project Contact
Marilyn Null (303) 692-3304
Community Involvement Coordinator
(888) 569-1831 toll-free (extension is the last four digits of their direct
number)
email comments.hmwmd@state.co.us.
See also Voluntary Cleanup Program
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Colorado Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund
As a public-private partnership,
the Colorado Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund (CBRLF), encourages the cleanup
of unused or underused contaminated properties. The Fund offers
financing with reduced interest rates, flexible loan terms, and
flexibility in acceptable forms of collateral. All cleanups
financed through the Revolving Loan Fund must have previous approval under the
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's Voluntary
Cleanup Program.
The Colorado Housing and Finance Authority serves as financial manager for
the Revolving Loan Fund, but does not vote on where to allot the fund.
Brownfields
Revolving Loan Fund Application Form
For further information, contact:
Dan Scheppers 303-692-3398
Project Contact
Marilyn Null (303) 692-3304
Community Involvement Coordinator
(888) 569-1831 toll-free (extension is the last four digits of their direct
number)
email comments.hmwmd@state.co.us
Or
Colorado Housing and Finance
Authority at 303-297-7329 or visit their website at http://www.colohfa.org.
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State Incentives for
Redevelopment of Contaminated Land in Colorado
The state of Colorado offers financial incentives for cleaning up
contaminated land, in the form of tax credits and grants.
A maximum of $100,000
credit per property is available, broken down as 50 percent of the
first $100,000 spent on cleanup, 30 percent of the next $100,000 and
20 percent of the third $100,000. To be eligible, the property
must be located in a municipality with a population of 10,000 or more
persons. Review for the cleanup plan and the associated costs
must be done through the Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment's Voluntary Cleanup Program,
which provides the
certification required to obtain the tax credit from the Colorado
Department of Revenue. The income tax credit for companies
that redevelop contaminated property is provided for in House Bill 00-1306.
The bill also provides for limited
state authority to clean up sites where there is no other federal or
state program that can accomplish the cleanup. It provides
$250,000 for such cleanup, which is designed first to protect human
health and the environment, and also to enhance the redevelopment
potential of these properties. The Colorado Department of Public
Health and Environment has drafted criteria for use in prioritizing
sites for the available cleanup funding.
How to Apply for the Colorado
Brownfields Tax Credit
Site Prioritization Criteria and
Worksheets
Colorado Contaminated Land
Redevelopment Credit - FYI for Income Tax #42 (Exit to
Dept of Revenue)
For further information, contact:
Dan Scheppers 303-692-3398
Project Contact
Marilyn Null (303) 692-3304
Community Involvement Coordinator
(888) 569-1831 toll-free (extension is the last four digits of their direct
number)
email comments.hmwmd@state.co.us.
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Other Programs and Resources
The
federal government also offers a tax credit for redeveloping
brownfields. Under the program, environmental cleanup costs
are fully deductible business expenses in the year in which costs are
incurred or paid. The taxpayer must
receive a statement from the Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment for properties located in Colorado.
Federal Tax Credit
Brownfields Tax Incentive
EPA
Initiative: Renewable Energy on Contaminated Lands and Mining Sites
EPA Region
8 Brownfields
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Non-governmental partner:
Colorado Brownfields Foundation
The Colorado
Brownfields Foundation's (CBF) nonprofit mission is to remove
environmental obstacles to community and economic development.
The nonprofit organization also serves as a forum for discussing
potentially contaminated properties before bringing in governmental
regulators.
A common question that Colorado Brownfields Foundation receives is: "I
know this building that might have contamination . . . Where do I
start?"
To help sort out a property's environmental concerns and facilitate
redevelopment, Colorado Brownfields Foundation can:
- Help identify redevelopment strategies and funding options
- Act as an intergovernmental and regulatory liaison, and loan a
Brownfields Coordinator to projects
- Inventory property opportunities and help position those properties to
market
- Provide Environmental Due Diligence Grants to facilitate real estate
transactions
- Assist borrowers in accessing the Colorado Brownfields Revolving Loan
Fund
- Conduct specialized trainings that range from confidential one-on-one
meetings, to stakeholder strategies, to public meetings and workshops.
The EPA selected Colorado Brownfields Foundation in 2008 to provide Technical
Assistance to Brownfields Communities ($100,000 annual funding grant, for up to
five years) beyond Colorado's borders, into the Rocky Mountain and Great Plains
regions.
In addition, Colorado Brownfields Foundation partnered with the Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment and the Colorado Division of Oil and
Public Safety to execute the Historic Byways Revitalization Initiative.
Through the initiative, Colorado Brownfields Foundation and partners have
provided assistance to communities pursuing heritage tourism and related
economic development.
Colorado Brownfields Foundation is constantly seeking public, private, and
nonprofit partners to advance infill and redevelopment in Colorado.
www.ColoradoBrownfieldsFoundation.org
Phone: 303-962-0940
Email:
info@ColoradoBrownfieldsFoundation.org
Colorado Brownfields Foundation is a Colorado Enterprise Zone contribution
project approved by the Colorado Economic Development Commission.
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Related Web Sites
Colorado
Brownfields Foundation
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