THE Division of Environmental Quality will use the $2 million grant it received from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a revolving loan fund for eligible applicants who want to clear land of dangerous contaminants or hazardous materials like unexploded ordnance.
The EPA recently awarded DEQ a $2 million brownsfield grant.
Brownsfield lands are the properties formerly used for commercial or industrial use but have never been put to any redevelopment use due to suspicion of contamination.
Ray S. Masga, manager of DEQ’s site assessment and remediation branch, said 40 percent of the grant money, or $800,000, will go to sub-grants.
Recipients will not be required to repay the funds.
Sixty percent, or $1.2 million of the grant will go to direct loans, Masga said.
Greg P. Calvo of the Commonwealth Development Authority said people have to apply to CDA and hire contractors to clean their property.
He said the grant is to be used for cleaning up hazardous materials or unexploded ordnance.
Long-term lease holders and private landowners can apply to clean up the land if it has oil spills or dangerous contaminants, Calvo said.
The primary businesses that may apply for the direct loan include auto shops, chemical warehouses and machine shops.
The EPA established the Brownsfield Grant Program to help stakeholders — which may include government agencies, non-profit organizations or private firms — bring brownsfield sites into economic redevelopment uses.
Magsa said there are many sites on Saipan, Rota and Tinian that need to be cleared of hazardous substances and other contaminants.
DEQ hopes that the brownsfield grant will help the CNMI’s ailing economy by making property viable and marketable again for business opportunities.
DEQ has established a pre-inventory list of potential brownsfield sites on Saipan that will be evaluated and prioritized based on the criteria the agency has developed.
DEQ is now expanding its pre-inventory list to include potential sites on Tinian and Rota.