Aug. 11, 2010
Vol. 40, No. 277

For more information, please contact Robert Newsome, Site Investigation and Restoration Branch, 302-395-2600, or Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

DNREC announces first loan recipient
in Brownfields Revolving Loan Program
Project will clean up property for community center in northeast Wilmington;
Applications being accepted by DNREC for funding additional projects

WILMINGTON — DNREC today announced the first loan recipient in the Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund (BRLF) program. The Kappa Mainstream Leadership Corporation will receive $120,261 for their Kappa Community Achievement Center project. The fund, which is administered by DNREC’s Site Investigation and Restoration Branch, has a total of $1.25 million from the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) plus state matching funds to help nonprofit organizations and developers when cleaning up contaminated sites.

“Brownfield remediation strengthens local communities, spurs economic development opportunities and mitigates environmental risks. The Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund is an innovative program that will provide critical assistance to businesses, groups and organizations seeking to clean up our state and create opportunities on contaminated sites. We congratulate the Kappa Mainstream Leadership Corporation on their investment in Wilmington and we look forward to helping make their project a success,” said DNREC Secretary Collin O’Mara.

The Kappa Community Achievement Center, located at 38 Vandever Avenue, Wilmington, will provide a wide range of needed services in its northeast Wilmington neighborhood, including youth mentoring, computer training, health education and prevention services and technical assistance to civic associations. “This loan will assist in the creation of a community center that will serve as a central point for neighborhood information and referral services,” noted Kappa’s Chairman William E. Bazzelle.

The Revolving Loan Fund is part of the Brownfields Development Program (BDP), which provides liability protection and grant funding to eligible participants. Brownfields are abandoned, idled or underutilized industrial and commercial facilities and sites where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by the real or perceived threat of environmental contamination. To date, 135 properties have been certified as Brownfields in Delaware and the number of properties certified continues to increase each year.

Since the BDP was established in 2004, more than 30 of these sites have received funding resulting in the cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated properties throughout the state. With a limited amount of state funding available each year, the Revolving Loan Fund provides opportunities to support additional Brownfields clean up projects by providing much-needed additional funding. Applications are still being accepted for remaining available funding.

In order to be eligible for the Revolving Loan Fund, a property must meet the following requirements:

·        The site must meet the definition of a Brownfields site and can also include areas contaminated by controlled substances, mine-scarred lands, or land contaminated by petroleum. 

·        The fund must be used on sites located in the state of Delaware. Sites may be publicly owned, either directly by a municipality or indirectly through a quasi-public entity such as a public development authority.

·        Funds also can be loaned to sites owned by a non-profit group such as a community development corporation or privately owned by current or prospective property owners, banks and developers, provided they did not contribute to the contamination.

Additionally, an analysis and evaluation of each application will include a review of the environmental risk associated with the cleanup and proposed redevelopment of the property.

For more information about the Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund, and for a list of Delaware’s certified Brownfields, visit the Site Investigation and Restoration Branch’s Brownfields website at http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/whs/awm/SIRB/Pages/Brownfields.aspx .