United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response(5101)
EPA500-F-99-108
June 1999
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
£EPA
Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Marlborough, 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. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded
up to $200,000 over two years), to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup and redevelopment models;job training
pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities affected
by brownfieldstofacilitatecleanupofbrownfieldssites and preparetrainees for future employmentintheenvironmental
field; and, cleanup revolving loan fund programs (each funded up to $500,000 over five years) to capitalize loan funds
to make loans for the 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 Marlborough for a
Brownfields Pilot. Marlborough (population 31,813)
is one of 19 Massachusetts communities selected as
a state "mini-entitlement community," which provides
funding to eliminate slums and blight. Although
Marlborough's economy has been growing in recent
years with new homes, hotels, and business parks, this
development has occurred primarily on the city's
outer edge. Marlborough's downtown has been unable
to attract businesses and provide new jobs because of
the potential liability of the area's brownfields.
However, the city recently began focusing on
assessing, cleaning up, and redeveloping its
brownfields, two of which have been successfully
redeveloped into the city's police and fire stations.
The Pilot targets two other downtown brownfields
areas, the Frye Boot and Tannery and the Assabet
River Rail Trail sites. The Frye facility, located in the
French Hill residential neighborhood, was recently
demolished with state funds due to public health
concerns resulting from the dilapidated state of the
building. The sites along the Assabet River Rail Trail
are a part of a five-town plan to convert abandoned
rail tracks to a 12.5-mile pedestrian and bicycle route
that begins in Marlborough. The Pilot targets three
PILOTSNAPSHOT
Date of Announcement:
June 1999
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
the Frye Boot and Tannery
site and three sites along
the Assabet River Rail Trail.
Marlborough, Massachusetts
Contacts:
City of Marlborough
Community Development Department
(508)460-3715
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/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/
-------
sites along the trail, including a former municipal
landfill, a former oil storage and sales property, and a
former railroad depot. The city has already received
municipal and federal funding for design and
construction of the trail.
OBJECTIVES
Marlborough's objective is to attract businesses,
increase the city's tax base, and increase job
opportunities in the downtown area by assessing
brownfields sites for cleanup and redevelopment. By
completing environmental assessments on two target
brownfields areas and working with the community
throughout the cleanup and redevelopment process,
the Pilot anticipates that residents' fears regarding the
potential health impacts of the sites will be allayed,
and that redevelopment of the Assabet River Rail
Trail sites will provide recreational and transportation
benefits to these residents and other communities
along the trail.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS ANDACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Compiling existing information regarding brownfields
sites in Marlborough;
• Conducting environmental assessments onthetarget
sites;
• Designing cleanup plans for the target sites; and
• Involving and educating the community regarding
Pilot activities through meetings and fact sheets.
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 Marlborough, Massachusetts
June 1999 EPA500-F-99-108
------- |