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EPA Gives Three Massachusetts Cities $225,000 in Brownfields Grants for Site Assessments

Release Date: 02/15/2001
Contact Information: Peyton Fleming, EPA Press Office (617-918-1008)

BOSTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's New England Office today announced it will invest $450,000 to assess environmental conditions at abandoned, contaminated sites in six New England communities, including $225,000 for the Massachusetts cities of Lawrence, Worcester and Fall River.

In Fall River, the funds will assess a 4.2-acre City Pier site, a former lumber yard and marina that is part of the city's waterfront renewal. A hotel, restaurant and marina linked with a public park are planned for this land, where buildings have already been demolished.

In Worcester, the funds will assess a 2.4-acre former industrial site located in an area of the city designated as the Southern Business District Economic Opportunity Area. A Worcester manufacturing and distribution company has expressed interest in the site for future expansion. State funds may also be available for clean-up work.

In Lawrence, the funds will be combined with state highway funds to assess contamination on three acres that were formerly the home of the Oxford Paper Mill. The city hopes to put a public park on this parcel, which is part of the gateway project of the new 495 Interchange.

Under the agency's Brownfields Program, environmental consultants contracted by EPA will perform the assessments - costing about $75,000 each - to determine the nature and extent of contamination on the properties, and to estimate the costs of cleaning up the site for redevelopment. The assessments are scheduled to begin in April and take about eight to 10 months.

"These site assessments will play an important role in Lawrence, Fall River and Worcester's efforts to clean up these Brownfields properties so they can be put back to reuse," said Ira Leighton, acting regional administrator of EPA's New England Office.

"We are pleased to get this grant funding for one of the city's signature sites," added Fall River Mayor Edward M. Lambert Jr. "This partnership will benefit our waterfront and bring about a suitable reuse."

"The EPA Brownfields funding for environmental assessments will play a vital role in allowing cities such as Worcester to initiate the reclamation process of critical redevelopment sites," Worcester City Manger Thomas R. Hoover said.

"Congress and the EPA are committed to revitalizing these polluted sites that once were given up for dead," U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy said. "Neighborhoods and businesses across the country are proving that the best days of these Brownfield sites are in the future, not the past. These grants will enhance the impressive efforts by the cities of Fall River, Lawrence and Worcester to clean up their Brownfields and turn them into new engines for job creation and economic growth."

"I have seen the successes of Brownfields revitalization - the restoration of abandoned urban lots, the generation of economic opportunity, the reconnecting of loose neighborhood fabric - and am excited by these site assessments," U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry said. "I commend the EPA and the cities of Worcester, Fall River and Lawrence for their commitment to the principle of urban redevelopment."

"I am pleased that Fall River will get this help," said U.S. Rep. Barney Frank. "It demonstrates the importance of adeuqate funding for older urban areas."

"Economic development can only occur in environmentally sound areas," U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern said. "That's why this assistance is so critical. In order for Worcester and Fall River to reach their full economic potential, we must address the issue of Brownfields. I'm very pleased with this federal funding, and I look forward to working with my colleagues, the EPA and local officials as we continue to make brownfields remediation a top priority."

"The ongoing economic and environmental recovery of Lawrence is vital to the health and well-being of residents and businesses in Lawrence as well as the entire Merrimack Valley." said U.S. Rep. Martin T. Meehan. "I appreciate the EPA's help in cleaning up the former Oxford Paper Mill site, which has stood abandoned for more than two decades but will soon serve as the motor for the growth of the gateway."

EPA New England's Brownfields Program has invested $3 million in assessing Brownfield sites throughout New England and $1.4 million in Massachusetts since February 1999. This money has helped communities restore and develop contaminated urban properties across New England, leading to the creation of thousands of jobs and generating millions of dollars in income and tax revenue. This brings to $19 million the amount EPA has invested to date in Brownfields projects in Massachusetts.

Similar Brownfields site assessment awards have been central to redeveloping abandoned sites throughout New England. In Somerville, a site assessment helped achieve the $14 million redevelopment of an abandoned industrial building that became home this year to an assisted living facility operated by the Visiting Nurses Association. The development created 45 new jobs in Somerville and filled a vital community need. EPA funding for a site assessment of the former Post Office Square in Lowell was essential for the clean-up and redevelopment of this property, which is the new home of the 6,000-seat Paul E. Tsongas Sports Arena.