United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-00-036
April 2000
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
&EPA Brownfields Supplemental
Assistance
Mystic Valley Development Corporation
(Maiden, Medford, & Everett), MA
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower states, communities, and other
stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and
sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and
an active potential for redevelopment or reuse. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded
up to $200,000 over two years), to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup and redevelopment models; job training
pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities affected
by brownfields to facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and prepare trainees for future employment in the environmental
field; and, cleanup revolving loan fund programs (each funded up to $500,000 over five years) to capitalize loan funds
to make loans for the environmental cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs are intended to provide EPA, states,
tribes, municipalities, and communities with useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods
to promote a unified approach to site assessment, environmental cleanup, and redevelopment.
BACKGROUND
EPA awarded the Mystic Valley Development
Corporatio supplemental assistance for its Brownfields
Assessment Demonstration Pilot. The three
communities that established the cooperative - Maiden,
Medford, and Everett are located in an urbanized area
five miles north of Boston. The area's manufacturing
and industrial activities historically centered around
the Maiden River and abutting railroads. In recent
years, manufacturing has declined in Maiden by 13
percent, in Everett by 61 percent, and in Medford by
79 percent. Each community has a lower per capita
income than the state average, and the average
poverty rate in the project area is 9.1 percent.
The three cities have joined together on a project to
construct a state-of-the-art telecommunications
research and development park, called TeleCom
City. The 200-acre area consists of blighted industrial
land that once supported power generation and
chemical production facilities. The stagnant area is at
the fringe of each community, with no public access
to the river. Perceived and real contamination hinders
economic redevelopment of the area. More than 70
percent of the site is vacant or used for parking or
open storage. The TeleCom City project is overseen
by the Mystic Valley Development Corporation
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Mystic Valley Development
Corporation (Maiden,
Medford, & Everett),
Massachusetts
Date of Announcement:
March 2000
Amount: $150,000
Profile: The Pilottargets 200
acres of blighted industrial land
forcleanupand redevelopment
into a state-of-the-art
telecommunications research
and development park.
Contacts:
Mystic Valley Development
Corporation
(617)381-7711
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 1
(617)918-1209
Visit the EPA Region 1 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region01/remed/brnfld/
Forfurther information, including specific Pilot contacts,
additional Pilotinformation, brownfields news and events, and
publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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(MVDC), a tri-city legislative body established by the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts and approved by
the three cities. Funding support of more than $1
million has been granted by Massachusetts, with an
additional $3 0 million committed to this proj ect by the
state.
OBJECTIVES AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES
The overall objective of the TeleCom City project is
to convert 200 acres of underused, blighted industrial
land into atelecommunications centerthat will advance
the local and regional economies. To overcome
fragmented ownership and liability constraints, the
MVDC will obtain ownership control over the proj ect
area and establish a consistent set of zoning controls,
which will allow for comprehensive environmental
testing of the area without the constraints of parcel
boundaries. In addition, significant public recreational
activities and greenspace will be provided for the
three communities and the general public through
reclamation of the environmentally distressed Maiden
River area. The supplemental assistance Pilot will
build upon the significant information gathered during
the initial Pilot, focusing on filling data gaps for the
Everett portion of the project and conducting further
river sediment and riverbank sampling.
To accomplish these objectives, the Pilot plans to:
• Conduct additional assessments of contaminant "hot
spots" along the Maiden River corridor;
• Assess the potential ecological and human health
risks posed by exposure to any contaminants along
the Maiden River corridor;
• Perform assessments on the properties located in
the Everett portion of the project; and
• Conduct community outreach with regard to this
assessment work.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated;
therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
Brownfields Supplemental Assistance
April2000
Mystic Valley Development Corporation
(Maiden, Medford, & Everett), Massachusetts
EPA 500-F-00-036
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