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EPA awards $100,000 Targeted Brownfields Assessment to Planning Commission

Release Date: 11/24/2003
Contact Information: Alice Kaufman, EPA Community Involvement Office, 617-918-1064

BOSTON–– The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that it is awarding a Targeted Brownfields Assessment grant of services valued at $100,000 to the Southern Windsor County Regional Planning Commission to assess environmental contamination at the 13-acre former Goodyear site for potential cleanup and reuse. Local officials wants to incorporate this property into the Rails to River Master Plan.

"The Goodyear parcel is key to the planning commission''s master plan that seeks to connect Windsor''s downtown area to the Connecticut River,"" said Robert W. Varney, EPA regional administrator. "The agency''s Smart Growth agenda supports community efforts to reinvigorate downtown areas and improve the overall quality of life in these communities. This grant nudges the master plan forward.""

Under EPA''s Targeted Brownfields Assessment Program, EPA hires a contractor for the town to perform site assessments, to develop cleanup options and cost estimates, and to ensure the community has access to the findings.

Across the country, EPA estimates there are hundreds of thousands of Brownfields –– properties that are abandoned or underdeveloped because of contamination or fear of contamination. EPA has awarded nearly $74 million in Brownfields grants, $4.6 million in Targeted Brownfield Assessment grants, across New England. Massachusetts communities have received a total of $30.5 million. Across New England, these grants have led to 640 completed site assessments, $300 million in leveraged funds for redevelopment and over 2,000 jobs created.