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Brownfields 2004
Grant Fact Sheet
Berkshire Regional
Planning Commission,
Berkshire County, MA
EPA Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders in economic development
to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up,
and sustainably reuse brownfields. Abrownfield site is
real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse
of which may be complicated by the presence or
potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant,
or contaminant. On January 11, 2002, the President
signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and
Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields
Law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible
applicants through four competitive grant programs:
assessment grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup
grants, and job training grants. Additionally, funding
support is provided to state and tribal response pro-
grams through a separate mechanism.
Community Description
The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission was
selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. In
the late 1980s through early 1990s, Berkshire County
(population 130,953) lost more than half of its manufac-
turing jobs (a loss of 11,716 jobs) due to the closure of
Sprague Industries and more than 15 other private
manufacturing companies, and the restructuring of
General Electric. Manufacturing jobs have declined
from 40 to 14 percent of the employment base. Berk-
shire County has the third highest poverty rate in
Massachusetts. Unemployment rates in Berkshire
County communities range from 7 to 11 percent. Only
Assessment Grant
$100,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the Berkshire Regional Planning
Commission for a brownfields assessment grant.
Grant funds will be used to identify petroleum-
contaminated brownfields, primarily among
municipally owned sites throughout Berkshire
County. The information will be added to a
geographic information system for subsequent
tracking. Once identified, a selected number of
properties will undergo Phase I site assessments,
and a smaller subset will have Phase II site
assessments. A portion of the grants will be used
for community involvement and to support a
regional steering committee to coordinate among
the various municipalities and communities.
Contacts
For further information, including specific grant
contacts, additional grant information, brownfields
news and events, and publications and links, visit
the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/
brownfields.
EPA Region 1 Brownfields Team
617-918-1221
http://www.epa.gov/region01/brownfields/
Grant Recipient: Berkshire Regional Planning
Commission, MA
413-442-1521
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
in this fact sheet are subject to change.
17 percent of residents between 18 and 25 years old
have a high school education. While the total land area
of Berkshire County is quite large, only about one
percent of the land area is available for new economic
growth. Cleanup and redevelopment of nearly 100
known brownfields sites and other idle properties,
particularly those within the area's developed inner
core, are a focus of the county's economic develop-
ment strategy.
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA560-F-04-108
June 2004
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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