United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA500-F-97-110
April 1997
National Brownfields
Assessment Pilot
Greenfield, 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.
OVERVIEW
EPA has selected the Town of Greenfield as a
Brownfields Pilot. Greenfield is the seat of Franklin
County and a major regional employment center.
The town has experienced a significant decline in its
industrial base over the last 20 years as a result of the
abandonment of many older industrial/commercial
buildings in the town's center. The town also has
experienced a 37 percent loss in manufacturing jobs
between 1980 and 1990, and estimates that 900
additional jobs were lost between 1990 and 1995.
Greenfield and other Franklin County towns have
been designated by the Commonwealth as an
Economic Target Area. This designation enables
Greenfield to receive priority for state capital funding
and to offer tax incentives to prospective property
developers.
The pilot site consists of an abandoned, 145,000
square-foot, machine tool manufacturing plant located
along the Green River and dating back to the 1870s.
Since the Greenfield Tap and Dye plant closed in
1993, the site has been vandalized, and open containers
of hazardous materials have been identified on the
property. Redevelopment of this site could provide
needed space for expansion by local manufacturers,
and is highly desirable with respect to existing
transportation and infrastructure support. The pilot
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Greenfield, Massachusetts
Date of Award:
April 1997
Amount: $125,000
Site Profile: The pilot will
focus on an abandoned
145,000 square-foot
manufacturing plant along
the Green River in a rural
area of Greenfield.
Contacts:
Teri Anderson
Office of Planning and
Community Development
(413)772-1548
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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project will develop a partnership between the town,
Commonwealth environmental agencies, University
of Massachusetts students, and private consultants to
prepare an environmental assessment and remediation
plan for this site.
OBJECTIVES
Greenfield's goals are to evaluate the environmental
concerns at the pilot site, explore an innovative
cooperative model for site assessment, create
redevelopment opportunities, and plan for the
restoration of the site as an asset to a blighted
neighborhood. In particular, the pilot will focus on
model approaches to reducing site assessment costs,
and these models will be evaluated to determine their
applicability for use at other sites in the area. Pilot
goals also include the determination of future land
use options and cleanup levels for the pilot site and
are directed toward job training and workforce
development for students.
ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this pilot include:
• Conducting additional site assessments,
characterizing hazardous wastes, and preparing a
remediation work plan for the Greenfields Tap and
Dye facility;
• Determining future land-use options forthe facility;
• Identifying funding sources and private sector
developers to assist in cleanup and redevelopment;
and
• Expanding a cooperative partnership model between
the local government, the Commonwealth, and
University of Massachusetts.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been
negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact
sheet are subject to change.
National Brownfields Assessment Pilot Greenfield, Massachusetts
April 1997 EPA500-F-97-110
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