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EDGE reports $1 million EPA brownfields revolving loan fund; few applications have met EPA requirements so far
Summary
EDGE told the Core City committee it holds a $1 million EPA revolving loan fund for brownfield remediation and has about $948,000 available; outreach has increased interest but pre-applications have not yet met eligibility requirements.
EDGE, the nonprofit economic-development intermediary, updated Shelby County commissioners on activity for a $1 million Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) brownfields revolving loan fund and outreach efforts to build a remediation pipeline.
Joanne Massey, president and CEO of EDGE, said EDGE received the EPA award in October 2023 and established policies, a board and application procedures. “A million dollars doesn’t go a long way for this type of cleanup,” Massey said, and noted the fund is structured as a revolving loan that EDGE can re-lend as projects repay principal. She reported roughly $948,000 remained available after program start-up costs for marketing, board support, consultants and initial administrative draws.
Massey said EDGE has worked with the Memphis Brownfields advisory council and the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) on outreach; it hosted a “lunch and learn” to increase developer and community-development corporation interest and has one pre-application in the pipeline. Earlier pre-applications did not meet EPA eligibility requirements, Massey said; common reasons included lack of an up-to-date Phase I environmental site assessment within six months of application or applicants seeking grant rather than loan funding.
Commissioners asked about geographic coverage, program rules and past draws. Massey said the program’s reach covers Shelby County and that EDGE identified potential candidate sites for the EPA submission. Commissioner Thornton and others asked for a roster of the brownfields advisory council and for EDGE to share outreach lists of developers and potential applicants. EDGE said it will provide additional documentation, and commissioners suggested partnering on more aggressive local publicity through county channels.
EDGE emphasized the loan fund is expected to be modest compared with remediation needs; Massey encouraged referrals of potential applicants and pledged to continue marketing and quarterly reporting to the EPA and local partners.
