EPA awards $16.1m to cleanup and revitalize New England Brownfield sites

Approximately $16.1 million in EPA Brownfields grants will help New England communities to assess, cleanup and redevelop abandoned or contaminated properties. Each of the New England states has been awarded a portion of these latest EPA Brownfields funds. The grant money will assist work to reclaim sites including old textile mills, sites containing hazardous substances and other abandoned industrial and commercial properties. EPA's Brownfields program encourages redevelopment of America's estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated waste sites. As of March 2010, EPA's brownfields assistance has leveraged more than $14 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funding, and helped create more than 61,000 jobs in cleanup, construction and redevelopment. These investments and jobs target local, under-served and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods - places where environmental cleanups and new jobs are most needed. "These grants will strengthen our communities while also building a stronger, green economy," said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA New England's office. "Cleaning and revitalizing contaminated sites provides a solid foundation for a community to create new businesses and neighborhood centers, while making our environment cleaner and the community healthier." In total, EPA New England received 58 out of the 304 grants through the Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Grants programs. Since the beginning of the brownfields program in 1995, EPA has awarded 1,702 assessment grants totaling $401 million, 262 revolving loan fund grants totaling more than $256.7 million, and 655 cleanup grants totaling $129.4 million. As part of Administrator Jackson's commitment to this program, the 2011 proposed budget includes an increase to $215 million for brownfields with a focus on planning, cleanup, job training and redevelopment. In 2002, the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act was passed. The brownfields law expanded the definition of what is considered a brownfield, so communities may now focus on mine-scarred lands, sites contaminated by petroleum, or sites contaminated as a result of manufacturing and distribution of illegal drugs (e.g. meth labs). In New England, the following Brownfields grants have been awarded to conduct community-wide site assessments and cleanups: Connecticut * East Hampton, $200,000 (community wide assessment) * Griswold, $200,000 (cleanup at Former Triangle Plastic Wire and Cable Co.) * Hartford, $124,500 (cleanup at Ramon Qurious Park) * Middletown, $200,000 (cleanup at Remington Rand Complex) * New Haven, $200,000 (cleanup at 10 Wall Street site) * New Haven, $1 Million (community wide revolving loan fund) * Preston Redevelopment Agency, $600,000 (3 cleanup grants, Former Norwich State Hospital property) * Shelton, $200,000 (cleanup at Former Cel-lastik Parcel) * Waterbury Development Corp., $400,000 (community-wide assessment) Maine * Dover-Foxcroft, $600,000 (3 cleanup grants, Former Maine Leathers Tannery Site) * ME Dept. of Economic & Community Development, $1 Million (community-wide revolving loan fund) * Parsonsfield, $400,000 (2 cleanup grants, Robinson Mill) * Pine Crest Development Corp., Dover-Foxcroft), $400,000 (2 cleanup grants, Former Moosehead Manufacturing Mill site * Saco, $200,000 (Former Saco Steel Co./Earth Waste Systems site) * Sanford, $200,000 (Aerofab site) Massachusetts * Boston, $400,000 (community wide assessment) * Brookfield, $200,000 (cleanup at Former Brookfield Mill) * Chelmsford, $200,000 (cleanup at Former Silicon Transistor Corp. site) * Franklin, $200,000 (cleanup at Former Nu-Style property) * Gardner, $1 Million, (community-wide revolving loan fund) * Jewish Federation of Central Mass. (Worcester), $200,000 (cleanup at 13 Hope Ave. site) * Lowell, $400,000 (two cleanup grants, Appleton Mills site) * Mystic Valley Development Commission (Malden, Medford & Everett), $300,000 (community-wide assessment) * Northborough, $200,000 (cleanup at 167 Bearfoot Rd.) * Peabody, $200,000 (cleanup at 45 Walnut St. redevelopment project) * Salisbury, $200,000 (cleanup at former Shoe Factory site) * Somerville, $200,000 (community-wide assessment) New Hampshire * Manchester, $400,000 (community-wide assessment) * Nashua, $1 Million (community-wide revolving loan fund) * Rockingham Economic Development Corp., Southeast NH, $1 Million (community-wide revolving loan fund) * Rockingham Economic Development Corp., Southeast NH, $400,000 (community-wide assessment) * Southwest Region Planning Commission, Southwest NH, $335,000 (community-wide assessment) * Tri-County Community Action Program Inc., Berlin, $200,000 (cleanup at Brown Co. Research & Development site) Rhode Island * Pawtucket, $200,000 (cleanup at State Pier site) Vermont * Bellows Falls Historical Society, Inc. $200,000 (cleanup at Bellows Falls Historical Riverfront Park and Trail System) * Bennington County Regional Commission, $356,000, (community-wide assessment) * Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, $400,000 (community-wide assessment) * Northwest Regional Planning Commission, $1 Million (community-wide revolving loan fund) * Rutland Regional Planning Commission, $200,000 (community-wide Hazardous Substances assessment) * Southern Windsor Regional Planning Commission, $200,000 (community-wide Hazardous Substances assessment) * St. Johnsbury, $200,000 (community-wide Hazardous Substances assessment) * Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission, $400,000 (community-wide assessment)