[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 214 (Friday, November 5, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60440-60441]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-29072]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-6471-2]
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability
Act (CERCLA) or Superfund, Section 104, Announcement of Proposal
Deadline for the Competition for the FY 2000 Brownfields Cleanup
Revolving Loan Fund Pilots
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of proposal deadlines, revised guidelines.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will
begin to accept proposals for the FY
[[Page 60441]]
2000 Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund Pilots on November 5,
1999. The Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund pilots (each funded
up to $500,000) test cleanup and redevelopment planning models, direct
special efforts toward removing regulatory barriers without sacrificing
protectiveness, and facilitate coordinated environmental cleanup and
redevelopment efforts at the federal, state, and local levels. EPA
expects to select up to 70 additional Brownfields Cleanup Revolving
Loan Fund pilots by May 2000. The deadline for new proposals for the FY
2000 Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund pilots is February 7,
2000. Proposals must be postmarked by February 7, 2000, and sent to
U.S. EPA Headquarters. In addition, duplicate copies of the proposal
must also be submitted to the appropriate U.S. EPA Regional Office,
ATTN: Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund Coordinator.
The Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund pilot proposals are
selected on a competitive basis. To ensure a fair selection process,
evaluation panels consisting of EPA Regional and Headquarters staff and
other federal agency representatives will assess how well the proposals
meet the selection criteria outlined in the newly revised guidelines,
entitled The Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative: Proposal
Guidelines for Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund (November 1999).
DATES: All proposals must be postmarked or sent to U.S. EPA
Headquarters and a duplicate copy sent to the appropriate U.S. EPA
Regional Office via registered or tracked mail no later than February
7, 2000.
ADDRESSES: BCRLF guidelines can be obtained by calling the Superfund
Hotline at the following numbers:
Washington, DC Metro Area at 703-412-9810
Outside Washington, DC Metro at 1-800-424-9346
TDD for the Hearing Impaired at 1-800-553-7672
Copies of the Proposal Guidelines for Brownfields Cleanup Revolving
Loan Fund are available via the Internet: http://www.epa.gov/
brownfields/
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The U.S. EPA's Office of Solid Waste
and Emergency Response, Outreach and Special Projects Staff, Barbara
Bassuener (202) 260-9347 or Jennifer Millett Wilbur (202) 260-6454.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA)
Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower
states, local governments, communities, and other stakeholders involved
in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to
prevent, assess, safely cleanup, and sustainably reuse brownfields. As
part of this Initiative, EPA has awarded cooperative agreements to
States (including U.S. territories), political subdivisions (including
cities, towns, counties), and Indian tribes to capitalize Brownfields
Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund pilots. The purpose of these pilots is to
test brownfields cleanup revolving loan fund models that direct special
efforts toward facilitating coordinated public and private brownfields
cleanup efforts at the federal, state, and local levels.
In FY 2000, the EPA expects to select up to 70 new BCRLF pilots to
be funded up to $500,000 per eligible entity by the end of May 2000.
Eligible entities for FY 2000 BCRLF pilots, as in previous years,
will be entities that have been awarded Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilots prior to FY00. In addition, political subdivisions
with jurisdiction over sites that have either (1) been the subject of a
targeted brownfields assessment (formerly called targeted site
assessments), or (2) been selected by the U.S. EPA prior to January 1,
2000, to be the subject of a targeted brownfields assessment, are also
eligible for a single BCRLF pilot award. BCRLF pilot proposals do not
have to be limited to sites identified, characterized, or assessed
under a previously awarded assessment pilot or targeted brownfields
assessment.
Proposals from coalitions are permitted to apply, but a single
entity must be identified as the applicant. Additionally, a letter of
support from each coalition member must be included as an attachment.
Applicants must demonstrate through their proposal: (1) An ability
to manage a revolving loan fund and environmental cleanups; (2) a need
for cleanup funds; (3) commitment to creative leveraging of EPA funds
with public-private partnerships and in-kind services; and (4) a clear
plan for sustaining the environmental protection and related economic
development activities initiated through the BCRLF program. The
eligible entities must meet EPA's threshold and evaluation criteria.
There is no guarantee of an award. Also, the size of the awards may
vary (for example, from $50,000 to $500,000 per eligible entity),
depending on the proposal's responses to the evaluation criteria.
Funding for the Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund pilots is
authorized under section 104(d)(1) of the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended, (CERCLA
or Superfund), 42 U.S.C. 9604(d)(1).
Submission to Congress and the General Accounting Office
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule,
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this action and
other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. This action is not
a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. Sec. 804(2).
Date Signed: October 27, 1999.
Linda Garczynski,
Director, Outreach and Special Projects Staff, Office of Solid Waste
and Emergency Response.
[FR Doc. 99-29072 Filed 11-4-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-U