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EPA Awards Nashua, N.H. $100,000 for Brownfield Redevelopment; Part of More Than $ 2 million give to communities in New England

Release Date: 05/20/2002
Contact Information: Mark Merchant, EPA Press Office (617) 918-1013

BOSTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today it will spend $2.25 million to help assess, clean and redevelop abandoned, contaminated sites throughout New England, including $100,000 for a project in Nashua, N.H..

"Reclaiming America's brownfields properties is an effective way to help revitalize and reinvigorate our nation's blighted neighborhoods while at the same time preventing urban sprawl," said EPA Administrator Christie Whitman.

In all, three brownfields projects in New Hampshire – in Nashua and Claremont, as well as one through the New Hampshire Office of State Planning's Coastal Program – received grants today totaling $500,000. They were part of more than $14 million in brownfields grants to assess the contamination of abandoned properties that were given to 80 communities around the nation today.

"These grants will bring much needed momentum to community brownfields programs in Nashua, in New Hampshire, and all across New England," said Robert W. Varney, regional administrator for EPA's New England office. "Dozens of contaminated sites in the region have already been successfully restored through this program. The money we offer to the communities in our region today ensures even more successes down the road."

Nashua will receive $100,000 in supplemental assistance for the Broad Street Parkway, a two-mile-long, four-lane parkway connecting I-93 to the downtown area. As part of environmental studies prepared for this project, more than 30 contaminated industrial sites were identified in the vicinity of the project area. Although the new parkway will greatly increase their value by improving accessibility, uncertainties regarding site contamination has discouraged new business ventures.

The original EPA grant enabled the city to inventory contaminated sites within the new Broad Street Parkway corridor such as the Whitney Screw and the Bennett Street sites. Additional work is needed to determine the extent of contamination at the Bennett Street site as well as to address liability issues identified during the original project and evaluate potential cleanup strategies.

"Nashua is pleased to receive the EPA supplemental grant to continue the site assessment on our Bennett Street Brownfields site and to develop a plan to address our asbestos sites," said Nashua Mayor Bernard A. Streeter. "We were able to maximize our previous $200,000 Brownfields grant by attracting $2 million of private investment. The supplemental grant will allow us to continue pursuing future investment opportunities that benefit Nashua, the region and our environment."

Earlier this year, President Bush signed bipartisan legislation that will encourage the cleanup and redevelopment of old industrial properties – cleaning up our environment, creating jobs and protecting small businesses from frivolous lawsuits. In addition, the President's fiscal year 2003 budget request doubled the funds available through the EPA in FY 02 – from $98 million to $200 million – to help states and communities around the country clean up and revitalize brownfields sites.

Under the EPA's Brownfields Assessment Program, communities receive funding to assess contamination at abandoned and vacant sites and to estimate the costs of cleaning up sites for redevelopment. Communities also receive funding to establish revolving loan programs allowing them to provide low interest loans to clean up these sites. Once assessed and cleaned, these sites can be put back into productive use by the community.

"Brownfields reclamation is one of the great environmental success stories of the past decade," Whitman said. "But the story is hardly over. EPA and its partners in every state of the union are ready to write the next chapter in the brownfields story. Given the commitment of this Administration, I can guarantee you that story will have a very happy ending."

These grants bring the total amount that EPA has spend on brownfields projects in New Hampshire to date to nearly $6 million.

For more information, visit the following EPA Web sites:

Smart Growth

Brownfields

New England Success Stories