ŁEPA
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-01-298
April 2001
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Brownfields Supplemental
Assistance
Lawrence, 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 worktogether in a timely mannerto prevent, assess, and safely clean up brownfieldsto promote
their sustainable reuse. Brownfields are abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial and commercial facilities where expansion
or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration
pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years, with additional funding provided for greenspace), to test
assessment models and facilitate coordinated assessment and cleanup efforts at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels;
and job training pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities
affected by brownfieldsto facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and prepare trainees forfuture employment in the environmental
field; and, a cleanup revolving loan fund program (each funded up to $1,000,000 over five years) to provide financial assistance
forthe 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 has selected the City of Lawrence to receive
supplemental assistance for its Brownfields
Assessment Demonstration Pilot andadditional funding
for assessments at Brownfields properties to be used
for greenspace purposes. Originally a farming town,
Lawrence was transformed into one of the first
planned industrial cities in the country in the mid-
1800s. Mills, industrial buildings, underground water
raceways, and homes, which were built in close
proximity to one another, now constitute historic
preservation areas. However, Lawrence has the
lowest per capita income and highest unemployment
rate in Massachusetts. Seven thousandjobs were lost
during the 1980s, even in the midst of the
Massachusetts economic boom. This decline primarily
affects the large minority population in the city.
The original Pilot targeted three sites as part of the
city's Lawrence Gateway Project (LGP), an overall
revitalization strategy for the city's downtown
industrial, commercial, and residential centers. The
three sites are the Everett Mills warehouse, the
Atlantic powerhouse, and the Oxford paper mill. The
supplemental grant funds will be used for soil and
subsurface assessments at the Oxford site in
preparation for construction of a new entranceway
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Lawrence, Massachusetts
Date of Award: April 2001
Amount: $150,000
Greenspace: $50,000
Profile: The Pilot will target
the Oxford paper mill site for
environmental assessments
andfoursitesforgreenspace
reuse.
Contacts:
City of Lawrence, Office of Planning
and Development
(978)794-5891
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA- Region 1
(617)918-1394
Visit the EPA Region 1 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region01/remed/brnfld
For further information, including specific Pilot contacts,
additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and
publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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bridge to the Gateway. Additional funding will be
used for assessments on at least four sites in the North
Common neighborhood, a residential area in the
Gateway connected to the Oxford site by the Spicket
River, targeted for greenspace creation. The targeted
sites are those which the community has laid claim to
through grassroots efforts to create badly needed
open and recreational space on formerly commercial
and industrial land. Greenspace reuse activities in the
North Common neighborhood are being aided by the
city's partnership with the National Park Service to
improve the physical environment in brownfields
communities.
OBJECTIVES AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES
The Lawrence Pilot will use the EPA supplemental
assistance grantto fund environmental site assessments
at the Oxford paper mill site. Of the three sites
originally targeted by the Pilot, the Oxford site is the
only one that still needs to be assessed. The historical
use of the site has left the area contaminated with
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and there is the
possibility of contamination from polyaromatic
hydrocarbons. Once the assessments are completed,
the city will be able to proceed with cleanup and
redevelopment plans for the site.
The Pilot has also been selected to receive funding for
greenspace reuse. The Pilot targets four sites in the
North Common neighborhood for environmental
assessments with the intent of creating greenspace.
The greenspace development is being ledby grassroots
efforts and includes the creation of a playground on a
vacant commercial lot, a community garden on a large
vacant lot, and a greenway along the Spicket River,
which includes two targeted sites.
The Pilot plans to:
• Conduct environmental site assessments at the
Oxford paper mill site;
• Conduct Phase I and Phase II environmental site
assessments at the four sites targeted for greenspace
reuse; and
• Partner with the Reviviendo Planning Group and
Groundwork Lawrence, a forum of public and
private stakeholders, in planning the greenspace
activities in the North Common neighborhood.
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
April 2001
Lawrence, Massachusetts
EPA 500-F-01-298
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