United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. 20460 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5101) EPA500-F-97-113 April 1997 National Brownfields Assessment Pilot State of Maine 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 State of Maine as a Brownfields Pilot. Maine's Voluntary Response Action Plan Program has served as the primary vehicle for environmental cleanup by brownfields purchasers. The program does not have sufficient information to assist communities and investors in identifying brownfields opportunities and has not broadly disseminated information regarding existing legal and financial tools. The state intends to use this pilot to fill these critical information and communication gaps. Although Maine is characterized as rural, 85 towns and cities are centers for jobs, retail trade, and social and cultural services. The pilot will focus on these 85 service centers/communities that have not experienced the same level of economic growth as surrounding suburban areas. For example, since 1970, housing growth has been 48 percent state-wide, as opposed to only 35 percent in the service centers/communities. Twenty-one percent of Maine's service center population is 150 percent below the poverty level. PILOT SNAPSHOT State of Maine Contacts: Fran Rudoff Maine State Planning Office (207) 287-3262 Date of Award: April 1997 Amount: $199,017 Site Profile: The pilot will focus on 85 service center/communities with potential or identified brownfields across the State of Maine. 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 ------- OBJECTIVES Maine's goal is to use redevelopment of brownfields as a catalyst for revitalizing many communitie s. This effort is an outgrowth of the state's Growth Management Program, which calls for orderly residential, commercial, and industrial development that is desirable for communities. The state believes that brownfields redevelopment is a key strategy for channeling developmentto these growth areas, many of which support historically significant buildings or water frontage. ACTIVITIES Activities planned as part of this pilot include: • Creating a geographic information system (GIS) listing of potential brownfields redevelopment opportunities in service center communities; • Creating GIS profiles of the historic development areas in selected service center communities to assist developers, investors, and decision makers in evaluating potential site cleanup issues and additional brownfields sites; • Implementing outreach and educational programs to ensure better understanding and improved communication; and • Establishing a municipal revolving loan fund that will assist towns and cities in assessing and planning for redevelopment of brownfields sites. 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 State of Maine April 1997 EPA500-F-97-113 ------- |