CERP Brownfields Programs: St. Louis

Serving the East Saint Louis and Saint Louis Communities!

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Brownfields - Programs: St. Louis

City of St. Louis Brownfields Program
"A Gateway to Opportunities"

The City of St. Louis is aggressively involved in the promotion and redevelopment of brownfield properties citywide. Brownfields offer a unique opportunity to redevelop urban properties that were once considered unmarketable due to their perceived contamination or, in most cases, lightly contaminated condition. To that end, the city has developed a formalized Brownfields Program whose objectives are to:

Promote economic growth through reuse of abandoned or underutilized properties.

Target specific areas for redevelopment that have a history or perception of environmental contamination.

Identify and promote the use of federal, state, and local resources to assist in the redevelopment of brownfields.

Seek legislative assistance that encourages redevelopment in the city.

Provide a one-stop resource to assist developers.

The City of St. Louis Brownfields Program is located in the St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC), the city's economic development agency. Through a team of technical and economic professionals, the city offers personalized services to help guide prospective developers through the brownfield redevelopment process. In addition, SLDC administers a wide range of other economic development programs such as:

real estate tax abatement,

enterprise zone tax incentives,

new and expanding business facility tax credits,

tax increment financing, and

other tax and financial incentive programs.

In most cases, brownfield properties are eligible for one or more of these economic development incentive programs.

Contacts:

Eric Klipsch
Kevin McGrew
St. Louis Development Corporation
1015 Locust Street, Suite 1200
St. Louis, Missouri 63101
Ph: (314) 622.3400
Fx: (314) 231.2341

State of Missouri
Brownfields Redevelopment Program

In 1995, Missouri passed one of the most unique pieces of brownfields legislation in the country, Chapter 447 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri (commonly known as the Brownfields Redevelopment Program). The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) and the Missouri Department of Economic Development (MDED) jointly administer the program.

The program offers significant benefits to entice redevelopment of brownfield properties. Highlights of the program include:

Eligibility:

1. All projects must enter and be accepted into the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) which provides property owners with oversight of and concurrence with all cleanup activities.
2. A project will be considered eligible if it meets the following criteria:
(a) The property must have been abandoned for at least three years or underutilized. Real property is underutilized if less than 35% of its commercially usable space is used for its most commercially profitable and economically productive use.
(b) The property is owned by a local, state, or federal governmental agency, or by a private party who is not the potential responsible party, and the project is endorsed by the local municipality;
(c) The property is contaminated, or perceived to be contaminated, by a hazardous substance; and,
(d) The property is planned to undergo redevelopment for a commercial, mixed-use, or industrial use that is expected to create at least 10 jobs or retain at least 25 jobs, or some combination thereof.

Incentives:
Remediation Tax Credits

Potential for reimbursement to the owner for up to 100% of materials, supplies, equipment, maintenance, labor, professional engineering, consulting/architectural fees, permitting fees/expenses, and direct utility charges incurred during the remediation of hazardous substances.

Brownfield Tax Benefits

Income tax credits per new job

Investment tax credits

Exemption of 50% of taxable income attributable to the eligible project.

Exemption of up to 100% for up to 15 years of local property taxes for improvements to real property.

Loans

Up to $1 million for the redevelopment of the eligible project or the remediation of hazardous substances.

Loan Guarantees

Up to $1 million for loans made by private lenders to an owner for the redevelopment of the eligible project or the remediation of hazardous substances.

Public Infrastructure Grants

Up to $1 million for public capital improvements necessary to support the eligible project. (Eligibility for grants is limited to a governmental agency)

Due Diligence Matching Grants

Up to $100,000 or 50% of eligible costs, whichever is less, for market feasibility studies, environmental review, cost estimates, and other due diligence for an eligible project.

General Program Limitations

The remediation tax credits, loans, loan guarantees, and infrastructure grants will be limited to the least amount necessary to cause the project to occur and are limited to the net state economic benefit of the eligible project.

The direct loan, loan guarantees, or grant funds shall not exceed a total of $1 million per project.

An eligible business must occupy the majority of the property upon completion of the rehabilitation.

The project may be a mixed-use facility (residential and commercial), but the economic impact will be based only on the commercial operations.

Contacts:

Department of Natural Resources
P.O. Box 176
Jefferson City, Missouri 65102
Ph: (573) 751.3176
Fx: (573) 751.7869
website: www.dnr.state.mo.us

Department of Economic Development
P.O. Box 118
Jefferson City, Missouri 65102
Ph: (573) 751.4180
Fx: (573) 751.7384
website: www.ecodev.state.mo.us

State of Missouri Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund

The Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund (PSTIF) was established by the Missouri General Assembly in 1989. PSTIF was created in response to federal legislation requiring owners and operators of underground storage tanks (USTs) to have financial resources available to pay for the cleanup of spills and/or leaks from their tanks. Coverage is provided for costs associated with cleaning up a leak or spill, as well as third-party property damage or bodily injury resulting from spills or leaks. A $10,000 deductible applies to each incident, with a policy limit of $1 million per incident and $2 million annual aggregate. The fund is financed primarily with a fee assessed on each load of petroleum brought into the state of Missouri. Annual fees are also charged for insurance coverage. Call PSTIF to find out more information, such as how to obtain an application for USTs, how to get insurance from Missouri's PSTIF, or how to make a claim.

Contact:

PSTIF
P.O. Box 836
Jefferson City, Missouri 65102
Ph: (573) 522.2352
Fx: (573) 522.2354
website: www.pstif.org

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-Funded Brownfields Grants

The region has received three U.S. EPA Brownfields Assessment Pilot Grants. This funding is earmarked for environmental site investigations and planning for site cleanup requirements. The areas of focus for these grants are the Dr. Martin Luther King Business Park and the North Riverfront Industrial Corridor in St. Louis City and several areas in the heart of East St. Louis.

The St. Louis region has also been the recipient of an education grant that was awarded to the St. Louis Community College. The ultimate benefit of this grant will be to increase the quality and quantity of the area's workforce to complete site remedial requirements.

Local Contacts:

Assessment Pilots --

City of St. Louis
St. Louis Development Corporation
1015 Locust Street, Suite 1200
St. Louis, Missouri 63101
Ph: (314) 622.3400
Fx: (314) 231.2341

City of East St. Louis
301 River Park Drive
East St. Louis, IL 62201-3022
Fx: (618) 482.6788

Job Training Pilot --

St Louis Community College
William J. Harrison Northside Education Center
4666 Natural Bridge Road
St. Louis, MO 63115-1923
Ph: (314) 381.3822
Fx: (314) 381.4637

U.S. EPA Brownfields Showcase Communities Initiative

In October 2000, the cities of St. Louis, MO and East St. Louis, IL received EPA's national Showcase Communities designation along with 11 other cities throughout the country. The goal of the Showcase Initiative is to promote environmental protection and economic development; link federal, state, and local public, private, and non-governmental community efforts to reuse brownfields; and develop national models demonstrating positive collaboration in addressing brownfields challenges. The bi-state Showcase project, officially known as the Mississippi River Corridor Brownfields Initiative (MRCBI), will focus its brownfields redevelopment activities along the Mississippi River. Through the MRCBI, each community envisions a regional approach to brownfields redevelopment that will bring a collaborative focus, increased resources and viable solutions to assist both sides of the river.

Local Contacts:

City of St. Louis
St. Louis Development Corporation
1015 Locust Street, Suite 1200
St. Louis, Missouri 63101
Ph: (314) 622.3400
Fx: (314) 231.2341

City of East St. Louis
301 River Park Drive
East St. Louis, IL 62201-3022
Fx: (618) 482.6788

Federal Brownfields Tax Incentive

Under the Brownfields Tax Incentive, environmental cleanup costs are fully deductible in the year incurred, rather than having to be capitalized. Two requirements must be met by the taxpayer for eligibility:

1. The property must be held by the taxpayer incurring the eligible expenses for use in a trade or business or for the production of income, or the property must be properly included in the taxpayer's inventory; and

2. Hazardous substances must be present or potentially present on the property.

Both rural and urban sites may qualify for this tax incentive. Sites listed, or proposed for listing, on EPA's National Priorities List are not eligible for the tax incentive.

As part of the December 2000 amendments, the Brownfields Tax Incentive was extended for an additional two years, to cover qualifying expenditures from the original date of the incentive's enactment until midnight of December 31, 2003.

Contact: U.S. EPA-OSWER Ph: (202) 260.4039
Outreach and Special Projects Staff

Federal Contacts for all EPA Programs:

Region 7 (Supports Missouri)
U. S. EPA Region 7
901 North 5th Street
Kansas City, Kansas 66101
Ph: (913) 551.7286
Fx: (913) 551.7063
Website www.epa.gov/region7

Region 5 (Supports Illinois)
U.S. EPA Region 5
77 W. Jackson Blvd., T-16J
Chicago, IL 60604
Ph: (312) 886.0995
Fx: (312) 886.2737
Website www.epa.gov/region5