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DPL seeks $2 million federal grant
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Posted on Dec 09 2006
The Department of Public Lands is seeking a new $2-million federal grant for the cleanup of contaminated sites.
Having just received $550,000 in grant funds to assess and clean up contaminated sites—called Brownfields—on the islands, DPL is now asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for $2 million in revolving loan fund grants.
The deadline for submitting applications was on Dec. 8, 2006.
According to DPL finance director David Atalig, the department is applying for the grant as part of a coalition, which also includes the Commonwealth Development Authority and the Division of Environmental Quality.
If granted, the grant would allow DPL to issue loans or sub-grants to public and private groups wishing to redevelop Brownfields, or sites contaminated by petroleum and or hazardous substances and pollutants, among other things.
EPA requires that at least 60 percent of the awarded funds be used to implement a revolving loan fund, in order to provide no-interest or low-interest loans for the cleanup of Brownfields.
The remaining 40 percent may be distributed as sub-grants.
A revolving loan fund also requires a 20-percent matching fund from the grantee. This cost share may be in the form of a contribution of money, labor, material, or services.
Earlier this week, DPL received hazardous substances grant funds amounting to $350,000 to assess and develop cleanup plans for the 153-acre Marpi Village Homestead site, where about 3 million pounds of unexploded ordnance are believed to be located.
In addition, DPL was granted $200,000 to inventory Brownfields sites with potential petroleum contamination around the Mariana Islands.
The former Marianas Public Lands Authority, which applied for the grant in December 2005, had identified 15 potential Brownfields sites under its control, 10 of which are petroleum sites.
