&EPA
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA500-F-98-169
July 1998
Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Montachusett Regional
Planning Commission, 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. Since 1995, EPA has funded more than 200 Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations of
brownfields solutions. 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 has selected the Montachusett Regional Planning
Commission (MRPC) for a Brownfields Pilot. The
MRPC encompasses 22 communities with a total
population of 223,8 65 in north-central Massachusetts.
High concentrations of manufacturing industries in
some cities as well as vast expanses of undeveloped
towns characterize the MRPC.
Wood, paper, and textile industries in the region have
been in decline since the early 1980s, creating a
patchwork of brownfields across the region. Today,
numerous abandoned and underused red-brick mills
sit along rivers and in central business districts. The
impact of brownfields has been greatest on the low-
and moderate-income and minority residents who
live in the neighborhoods immediately adjacent to
the problem sites. Since 1989, unemployment rates
in the region have been consistently higherthan State
and national levels.
OBJECTIVES
The MRPC plans to return at least two brownfields to
productive reuse within the two-year period of the
Pilot. Pilot funds will be used to solicit site-selection
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Montachusett Regional
Planning Commission,
Massachusetts
Date of Announcement:
July 1998
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot will
target the 22 communities
incorporating the
Montachusett Regional
Planning Commission
(MRPC).
Contacts:
Montachusett Regional
Planning Commission
(978) 343-0646
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 1
(617)573-9681
Visit the EPA Region 1 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region01/remed/bmfld/
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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input from the residents of areas impacted by
brownfields; prioritize sites based on redevelopment
potential; and perform environmental assessments
on the targeted sites. The MRPC will provide
additional funding to develop innovative zoning
approaches and establish a regional brownfields
redevelopment agency.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Developing criteria for selection of sites to be
assessed by the Pilot;
• Holding public meetings to obtain citizen input on
site selection and prioritization;
• Conducting a maximum of eight Phase I site
assessments; and
• Conducting a maximum of two Phase II site
assessments.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been
negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet
are subject to change.
Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot Montachusett Regional Planning Commission, Massachusetts
July 1998 EPA500-F-98-169
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