State Loan Fund Wins $1.25 Million Grant for Brownfields Cleanups

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. of the people of Colorado.”