United States
                       Environmental
                       Protection Agency
                       Washington, D.C. 20460
 Solid Waste
 and Emergency
 Response (5101)
EPA500-F-97-019
May 1997
                       National  Brownfields
                       Assessment  Pilot
                                                         Lawrence,  MA
  Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101)
                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. Between 1995 and 1996, EPA funded 76 National and Regional Brownfields
Assessment Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations of brownfields
solutions. EPAis funding morethan 27 Pilots in 1997. The Pilots 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 selected the City of Lawrence for a Brownfields
Pilot. Lawrence was one of the firstplanned industrial
cities inthecountry in the mid-1800s. Mills, industrial
buildings, underground water raceways, and homes
were built in close proximity, and now constitute
historic preservation areas. However, Lawrence is
now the 23rd poorest city in the nation, with a 15
percent unemployment rate. Seven thousand jobs
were lost during the 1980s, even in the midst of the
Massachusetts economic boom. Thi s decline primarily
affects the large minority population in the district.
The City  is actively participating in an effort to
redevelop contaminated properties  through the
Lawrence Gateway Project.

OBJECTIVES

Through  this effort,  the City plans to promote
economic development within the  designated
brownfields Lawrence Gateway Project area, while
enhancing the quality of life for those who work, visit
and live within the area.   The City is  carefully
coordinating the implementation of the Pilot with
several overlapping City-wide economic development
initiatives. Lawrence is also working to build on
 PILOT SNAPSHOT
Lawrence, Massachusetts
  Date of Award:
  June 1996

  Amount: $200,000

  Site Profile: The Pilot
  targets three priority sites
  in the North Canal
  Industrial Corridor, a one
  and a quarter-mile  stretch
  along the Merrimack River
  containing former textile
  mills, landfills, and  paper
  manufacturers.
 Contacts:

 Suzanne Lamoureux
 ENSR
 Lawrence, Massachusetts
 (508) 393-6779
   John Podgurski
   U.S. EPA Region 1
   (617)573-9681
   podgurski.john@
   epamail.epa.gov
        Visit the EPA Brownfields Website at:
        http://www.epa.gov/brownfields

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existing outreach efforts to encourage involvement
with the community's  minority groups and other
stakeholders.

                     AND

The Pilot has:

* Appointed a Steering Committee which includes
 the neighborhood association, local businesses, and
 environmental groups.

The Pilot is:

* Developing preliminary1 inventories of industrial
 and commercial properties within the North Canal
 Industrial Corridor, and identifying potential ben-
 eficial land uses including: integrating inventory
 data into an existing geographic information system
 (GIS)  database;  selecting three  priority sites for
 "site focus  investigations" that  include  environ-
 mental evaluations and conceptual redevelopment
 planning; and preparing supplementary investiga-
 tion plans to outline additional information needs;

* Preparing a user-document that outlines economic
 incentive s and other financing instruments available
 for brownfields redevelopment projects; and

•Planning to review and expand Lawrence's
 community advisory committees  and  increase
 outreach and community education programs.



Experience with the Lawrence Pilothas been a catalyst
for related activities including the following.

* Lawrence has been designated as a Groundworks
 Trust Community.  This partnership between the
 EPA and the National Park Service is intended to
 improve  the natural, economic and  social
 environment of Lawrence  while  developing local
 grassroots conservation organizations with the ability
 to conserve local rivers, trails and open spaces.
Coordinating redevelopment plans and activities
among the  City,  State agencies, and Federal
departments.

Planning to adapt the State of Massachusetts' Clean
Site Initiative within the Citv of Lawrence.
 National Brownfields Assessment Pilot
 May 1997
                        Lawrence, Massachusetts
                             EPA 500-F-97-019

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