United States
Environmental Protection
Agency New England
Cleaner Cities
Healthier Cities
Urban Environmental Challenges,
Urban Successes
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Introduction
Residents of New England's cities face more than
their fair share of the region's environmental
challenges. People living in cities are more likely to
breathe polluted air, to live or work by water that
has been contaminated, and to garden and play on
soil that has been tainted by toxins. EPA New England
works directly to reduce the air, land and water
pollution that compromises the well-being of millions
of city residents in the region's six states.
Here at EPA New England, we have made urban
challenges a priority, putting time and money into
programs that reduce pollution caused by motor
vehicles, factories and dense urban living. We
have formed an Urban Environmental Program to
focus on the complexity and pervasiveness of the
environmental challenge for cities. Every program
at EPA is charged with understanding the effect
of pollution on the health and well-being of city
residents, especially of our youngest and oldest
EPA's New England office is working to ensure that
citizens with the least resources - a great majority
of whom live in cities-do not lose out when it comes
to environmental protection. Because children are
particularly vulnerable to environmental problems,
we have appointed a Children's Environmental Health
Coordinator to work with communities to reduce
asthma, lead poisoning and other diseases prevalent
among children, and most prevalent among children
living in cities.
As we plan for the future of New England's most
populated areas, we are focused on reducing indoor
and outdoor air pollution, cleaning our lakes and
rivers, reusing existing buildings and developing
new buildings in places that are most accessible.
In our work to make cities cleaner, healthier and
more comfortable, we are working to engage,
educate and train urban residents so they have the
knowledge, resources and power to play a role in
creating a healthy and clean environment for present
and future generations.
Robert W. Varney
Regional Administrator, EPA New England
Cleaner Air ... Outdoors
EPA has set national air quality standards for air pollutants.
In New England cities, ozone and particulate matter pollution are of
particu lar concern as elevated levels can aggravate respiratory problems,
such as asthma. Cars, trucks and buses contribute significantly to urban air pollution. Other
chemicals and toxic emissions also contribute to outdoor air pollution in cities.
• Monitoring and Forecasting Air Quality - EPA
works with the states to monitor air quality throughout
New England and to warn residents when poor air
quality is expected. Currentair quality levels and next-
day forecasts are publ ished dai ly on the web for ozone
and particle pollution. When unhealthy air quality is
expected, EPA issues air quality alerts. These alerts
allow residents to take action, such as using public
transportation, to reduce pollution and protect their
health. To sign-up to receive free air quality alerts,
go to www.epa.gov/ne/aqi.
• Cleaning School Buses - With funds from EPA's
Clean School Bus USA program, the City of Medford
has retrofitted all of its 71 buses with a combination
of diesel oxidation catalysts and diesel particulate
matter filters. In addition, the city has been fueling
its fleet of school buses with cleaner ultra-low sulfur
diesel fuel since 2003.
• Reducing Diesel Pollution - The Northeast
Diesel Collaborative combines the expertise of EPA,
NESCAUM (The Northeast States for Coordinated
Air Use Management) and the eight Northeastern
states to improve public health by expanding clean
diesel programs. Almost $120,000 in funding from
the 2006 Northeast Diesel Collaborative emission
reduction grant program will be used to retrofitdiesel
equipment operating downtown at a New Haven
school construction site.
• Retrofitting Boston Trolleys - The City of Boston
has equipped 35 diesel-powered tourist trolleys with
diesel oxidation catalysts using a $64,000 grant from
EPA's National Voluntary Diesel Retrofit Program.
The city is also fueling the 450 diesel vehicles in its
municipal fleet with a blend of bio-diesel and ultra
low-sulfur diesel fuel. As of 2006, any new vehicle
purchased by the city must be a hybrid or alternative
fuel vehicle, if possible.
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(top photo) Since 2003, EPA's Clean
School Bus USA program has funded
projects nationwide to retrofit, replace
and reduce idling from school buses,
making the "black puff of smoke, "a
thing of the past
Better (GB3) partners, the City of
Boston and Beantown Trolley, teamed
up to equip 35 diesel tourist trolleys
with diesel oxidation catalysts.
(bottom photo) EPA and the New
England states are working to promote
Truckstop Electrification projects
throughout the region.
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• Guiding transportation fleets - The City of Cambridge and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology used an EPA grant of $83,000 to equip a total
of 32 vehicles with advanced pollution control technology. Cambridge and MIT are participating in the Greater Boston Breathes Better (GB3) partnership,
a coalition of private and government groups working to reduce air pollution in Boston caused by transportation and construction.
• Influencing commutes - Fortune 500 companies such as IBM and Time Warner and community-based organizations such as Alternatives for Community
and Environment and Environmental Defense are among the 146 employers on EPA New England's list of Best Workplaces for Commuters. This program
recognizes employers that encourage commuters to get to work in ways that reduce traffic congestion and air pollution.
• Cutting down on idling - Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire all have rules to reduce idling diesel-powered engines, a practice that
contributes unnecessarily to air pollution in cities. Every New England state has a program to reduce idling from school buses. The state of New Hampshire
has teamed up with the NH School Transportation Association to supply school transit providers with information to reduce idling. More than 30 fleets,
Taking on asthma,
a New England cha I lenge
These figures were reported by the Asthma Regional Council, a coalition of health,
housing, education, and environmental organizations co-founded by EPA New England
to reduce the impact of asthma across New England. The council works to address the
environmental factors that contribute to asthma. Indoors, tobacco smoke, dust mites,
pest and pet allergens can exacerbate asthma symptoms. Outdoors, fine particles or soot
have been associated with respiratory problems. The group has focused on homes and
schools and the disproportionate impact of asthma on populations at greatest risk.
Within New England, Black and Hispanic communities had higher than average rates
of asthma, according to the report. Children exposed to environmental tobacco smoke
had higher asthma rates, as did people of lower incomes, the report found. The rate
of asthma among people living below poverty level was 15.6 percent, compared to 7.6
percent among people earning three times the poverty level.
Children in urban areas are particularly at risk for asthma. For example, the heaviest
burden of asthma hospitalization is borne by children under 5, according to the Boston
Public Health Commission. In 2004, the youngest Boston children had 7.7 hospitalizations
per 1,000 population, which is more than 3 times the rate for Boston overall, the
commission reported.
Working with the Asthma Regional Council, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New
Hampshire have signed anti-idling agreements with school transportation associations.
Rhode Island has put in place a clean green school bus awareness program and is
currently developing anti-idling legislation. Vermont hasa newsletter for superintendents
on school bus idling.
Nationally, asthma is responsible for more than $12.7 billion a year in health care costs
and lost productivity. It is also the leading cause of missed school days. Each year, this
disease is responsible for 10.1 million lost school days, 15 million missed or lost work
days, 423,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths.
Current Asthma Rates by Age, Children <18 Years
New England Region and Rest of US Compared
11.8
< 5 years 5-12 years 13-17 years
Q New England
Only the rates among 13-17year aids are significantly higher in New England.
Rest of US includes 44 stares & DC.
Source: National Survey of Children's Health, 2003
Asthma Hospitalizations by Race/Ethnicity and Year:
Counts and Age-Adjusted Rates, Boston, 1997-2004
6r
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
• Asian Latino
• Black White
• BOSTON
NOTE: People of Latino ethnicity may be reported
in any of the above race/ethnicity categories.
Source: Acute Care Hospital Cose Mix fifei,
Massachusetts DrVisian of HeoMi Care finance and Polity
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Environmental Justice:
A Healthier Region
for Everyone
EPA New England (EPA NE) is committed to promoting and
supporting Environmental Justice (EJ) in communities across
New England, and especially in urban areas. EJ is the fair
treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless
of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the
development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental
laws, regulations, and policies. Fair treatment means that no
group of people, including any racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic
group, should bear a disproportionate share of the negative
environmental consequences resulting from industrial, municipal,
and commercial operations or the execution of federal, state,
local, and tribal programs and policies.
EPA NE's Environmental Justice Program is working to make
sure that EJ considerations are factored into the environmental
decision it makes, programs it implements, and projects and
initiatives it undertakes. This commitment to environmental justice
is evidenced by management's leadership and support, especially
the active ongoing participation of the Deputy Office Directors in
the regional EJ Council. The regional EJ Council is charged with
the responsibility of developing EJ guidance and implementation
strategies to institutionalize EJ activities throughout the regional
office. In urban areas, EPA NE's Environmental Justice Program
works closely with the Urban Environmental Program (UEP) to
ensure that urban residents in Massachusetts, Rhode I sland, and
Connecticut are engaged, informed and involved in environment
and public health projects to benefit local residents. In addition to
these projects, funding resources are available on a competitive
basis through the Environmental Justice Small Grant Program
and Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Grant
Program.
representing more than 65 percent of New Hampshire's school buses, have
anti-idling policies.
• Challenging truckers and shippers - Hannaford Supermarkets, a chain
of 158 stores based in Scarborough, Maine, is conserving fuel and reducing
emissions in its trucking operations. Lighter and more streamlined trucks,
balanced loads and single-wide tires result in higher driving efficiency.
Automatic idle shutdown mechanisms, driver incentives and consolidated
deliveries reduce fuel use and emissions at the dock. Hannaford is among
over 450 partners in EPA'sSmartWay Transport Partnership, which challenges
freight shippers and carriers to reduce pollution while saving money and time.
Formed in 2004 by EPA and the American Trucking Association, SmartWay
provides strategies, technologies and incentives to reduce diesel engine idle
time, upgrade vehicles, use cleaner fuel, train drivers and refine pickup and
delivery logistics.
• Car-free transportation - This EPA New England web page helps
residents and visitors get around New England on bikes, buses, boats,
ride-sharing, subways and trains. This site offers links to car-free transportation
alternatives including; bike paths, buses, ferry services, ride-sharing, subways,
trains, and trolleys, www.epa.gov/ne/topics/air/carfree.html
• Cleaning up transit - To reduce public exposure to diesel exhaust, the
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has taken steps to lower
emissions from its diesel buses and trains. The entire fleet of 980 buses
operated by the MBTA has either been retrofitted with diesel particulate
matter filters or is running on compressed natural gas. In addition, the 55
commuter trains that serve the greater Boston area have been running on
cleaner low sulfur diesel fuel, with funds from two different EPA enforcement
settlements.
Cleaner Air ... Indoors
Americans spend 90 percent of their time indoors, which is
why EPA has focused on improving air quality in schools and
homes across the region. Buying cleaning agents and other home
products without toxins can protect the environment and the health of residents.
Exposure to hazardous mercury vapors from broken thermometers or fluorescent
lights, for instance, can be avoided if they are properly cleaned up.
• Reducing second-hand smoke - More than 1,687 parents and other
caregivers in New Bedford and Fall River pledged not to smoke at home as
part of a campaign to reduce children's exposure to second-hand smoke
in cars and homes. The Smoke-Free Homes Campaign, led by a local non-
profit agency, urged parents, especially those who smoke and have children
under five, to sign a Smoke-Free Home Pledge. Local agencies, such as Wl C
and other early intervention programs, made home visits and handed out
educational materials. Of the homes assessed, more than 93 percent of
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households that pledged remained smoke- free for at least a year.
• Improving the air in schools - Connecticut's collaborative approach
to assisting schools to implement EPA's Tools for Schools (TfS) program
has had remarkable success. This has been helped by a state law requiring
every school to have an indoor air
quality program. This has led to the
creation of TfS Indoor Air Quality
(IAQ) building teams in over three
quarters of Connecticut schools.
Asa result, several school districts
have reported improvements in
health, including a nearly 50% drop
in respiratory-related illnesses
in North Haven, and a 21% drop
in asthma-related office visits in
Hartford since they began using
Tools for Schools.
www.epa.gov/iaq/schools
• Reducing asthma triggers at
home - In New London County,
Connecticut, emergency room
visits by a group of patients
suffering from asthma dropped
85 percent as a result of a team
approach to treating asthma. In
addition, doctor visits dropped
66 percent and missed school or
work days dropped 62 percent.
The program of the New London
Shoreline Action Partnership linked
a medical asthma team with an
environmental home specialist
and a community health educator
to evaluate environmental
conditions at home and come up
with solutions.
(top photo)
Urban youth work with the UEP team to
build an urban garden in Hartford, CT.
(bottom photo)
UEP Team works with community
volunteers to conduct soil sampling on
vacant lots in Providence, Rl.
• Identifying toxic materials in
herbal remedies - In 2004, an
EPA chemist co-authored a paper
in the Journal of the American
Medical Association that concluded that one in five of the ayurvedic herbal
medicine products produced in South Asia and available in South Asian
grocery stores in Boston contained potentially harmful levels of mercury, lead
or arsenic. EPA's role was primarily to analyze the metal content of products,
but the study has had significant impacts around the world as governments
assess and change their policies on sale of these products.
Getting Pol luters To Pay:
Environmental Projects
Help Clean Our Air, Land
and Water
Dozens of environmental improvements in New England
have been paid for by companies or institutions that violated
environmental laws. A company or organization can offer to
pay for an environmental improvement, often in exchange
for a reduced penalty. The project, known as a Supplemental
Environmental Project or SEP, must produce environmental
or public health and safety benefits beyond those required
by laws.
One of the largest such projects allowed for the restoration
of Mill Creek in Chelsea. This $250,000 project was funded
by Exelon Mystic LLC as part of a $6 million settlement
stemming from air quality violations over a five-year period
at the Mystic Station power plant in Everett. Exelon worked
with the Chelsea Green Space & Recreation Committee and
the Urban Ecology Institute to restore the land, providing
environmental benefits and wildlife habitat, as well as coastal
access, passive recreation, green space and environmental
opportunities to the residents of Chelsea and surrounding
communities. The company also paid for a commuter bike
path connecting bike paths in Everett and Somerville along
the Amelia Earhart Dam on the Mystic River as well as diesel
retrofits on Boston School Buses.
Residents who have ideas for environmental improvement
projects in their community can submit them to EPA. EPA
favors projects with a relationship to the violation. It will
consider the relevant pollutant, geographic location, its impact
on sensitive populations, its impact on sensitive ecosystems
and the cost and the length of time to complete the project.
Appropriate SEP proposals are included in an EPA library,
available to EPA New England employees.
A project can be proposed by filling out a SEP Idea Form at
www.epa.gov/boston/enforcement/sep/sepform.html.
Helpful guidelines are available at www.epa.gov/boston/
enforcement/sep/index.html Or www.epa.gov/
compliance/civil/seps/index.html.
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(above photos)
Children may be more vulnerable than adults to environmental hazards because
they may be exposed to more pollutants per pound of bodyweight and their systems
are still developing.
Mercury
The mercury level in the fish in the lakes and streams of New
England poses a significant ecological and public health issue.
Although fish throughout the region may contain high levels of
mercury, some immigrant populations in urban areas are more apt
to get nutrition from subsistence fishing. Pregnant women, nursing
mothers and parents of young children can get fish consumption
advice from EPA about how often they should eat certain types of
commercially-caught fish and shellfish. EPA works with the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and with states and tribes to
issue these advisories. Advisories are also issued for men, women,
and children of all ages when appropriate. Fish is a beneficial part
of the diet, so EPA and FDA encourage people to continue to eat
fish that are low in methylmercury.
Coal-burning power plants are the largest human-caused source
of mercury emissions to the air in this country. Burning hazardous
wastes, producing chlorine, breaking mercury products, and
spilling mercury, as well as the improper treatment and disposal of
products or wastes containing mercury, can also release mercury
into the environment and expose people to mercury vapor. Mercury
in the air eventually settles into water or onto land, where it can
be washed into water. This form of mercury, called methylmercury,
builds up more in some types of fish and shellfish than others.
Fish and shellfish with high mercury levels are the main sources
of exposure to humans.
Reducing Children's
Exposure to Lead
EPA New England has made it a priority to reduce
exposure to lead among children across the region. In
cities, the rate of lead poisoning may be two or three times higher than
the rest of New England, affecting as many as 20 percent of children under
six in some areas. EPA has helped teach parents and property owners
how to recognize and avoid lead poisoning. Lead was once widely used in
many materials and is still found in many older homes, toys, and plumbing
fixtures. Some herbal remedies used in urban ethnic neighborhoods have
also been shown to contain lead and other toxic metals.
• Educating homeowners - Nearly 1,475 paint and hardware stores
in New England have joined the "Keep It Clean Campaign" to educate
families about lead-safe renovation. The campaign promotes inexpensive
ways to safely renovate homes with lead paint. Participating hardware
stores have trained employees to answer questions about lead-safe
renovations. The Keep It Clean Campaign was started by the New England
Lead Coordinating Committee, a collaboration of public and private
organizations managed by University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension
System, www.nelcc.uconn.edu/
• Eliminating lead poisoning - In Boston, elevated blood lead levels
dropped from 1,123 cases in 2001 to 460 cases in 2006, thanks to efforts of
the Lead Action Collaborative. The Fenway neighborhood in 2004 became
the first neighborhood in Boston with no lead poisoned children. The Lead
Action Collaborative was formed byagroup of organizations to eliminate lead
poisoning in Boston. The collaborative focuses on neighborhoods with the
greatest rates of poisoning and successfully lobbied to change state law to
give property owners a $1,500 tax credit per unit for lead removal work.
• Penalizing landlords-A Connecticut real estate management company
and the property owner paid more than $45,000 to settle claims by EPA that
they violated disclosure laws at an apartment complex in East Hartford.
The companies, which manage or own more than 1,000 units of pre-1978
rental housing in Connecticut, failed to notify prospective tenants about
the potential existence of lead-based paint. This case is among dozens
EPA has initiated to enforce federal lead laws. Fining landlords who violate
lead laws deters other homeowners and landlords from putting residents
at risk of poisoning. The media attention generated by these actions leads
to education and increased compliance.
Federal law requires anyone leasing or selling housing built
before 1978 to give tenants and buyers a pamphlet called
"Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home;" a lead warning
statement; statements, records and reports disclosing any known
lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards.
www.epa.gov/opptintr/lead/pubs/leadprot.htm
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• Penalizing real estate managers - A Providence real estate investor and three of his companies paid $20,000 to settle claims by EPA that
they violated federal lead paint disclosure rules. The owners sold six houses in Providence, Central Falls and Narragansett between 2000 and
2002 without warning buyers of potential lead paint hazards. Nearly all the violations were in low-income, minority neighborhoods.
• Creating Lead Safe Yards - Nearly 100 house lots in North Dorchester and Roxbury have been treated through the lead-safe yard program.
Contaminated soil was contained, mulch was added to raise the level of the ground where children play, and compost was added to garden plots.
The Lead Safe Yard Project was created by the Boston University School of Public Health and EPA to demonstrate inexpensive ways to landscape
to reduce the risk from lead in urban house yards.
• Protecting children - EPA ordered a Fall River dance studio to postpone its classes when
lead-paint contamination was found in the studio building. EPA issued the order after samples
showed high lead levels in dust caused by recent sandblasting. With help from the building's owner,
the studio was closed while the threat was removed. The facility was made safe for children and
reopened a few months later.
• Analyzing products - The EPA New England Laboratory in Chelmsford was asked to analyze
herbal remedies, cosmetics and incense after a child was taken to Children's Hospital in Boston
with extreme lead poisoning. Within 24 hours the lab reported that three of the eight products
tested had high levels of lead, as well as arsenic and mercury. As a result, medical experts were
able to confirm that the child had been poisoned by an herbal remedy the father received from
a relative and administered to the child. The EPA lab provides testing for toxic metals in a wide
range of materials.
Restoring Our Urban Rivers
New England's industrial history and dense development has turned some of
the region's most beautiful rivers into the nation's most toxic rivers. Years of
work to end illegal and toxic dumping, build treatment plants, eliminate overflows and
educate the public have dramatically reduced pollution allowing for more economic vitality, wildlife
and recreation than the rivers have seen in more than a century.
• The Charles River - EPA's "Clean
Charles" initiative, involving other
government agencies and private
organizations, has made the lower 8.6
miles of the Charles River cleaner and
safer than it has been in a century. Since
1985, when the Massachusetts Water
Resources Authority was formed to help
clean Boston Harbor, at the terminus of the
Charles, the strides have been enormous.
Sewer discharges from combined sewer/
stormwater pipes have dropped from
1.7 billion to 7.7 million gallons a year.
Another one million gallons a year of
sewage has been removed by eliminating
illicit connections discharging into storm
drains. Finally, communities on the river have
(top photo)
Quieter upstream stretch of the Charles River.
(bottom photo)
Lower stretch of the Charles River Basin, which
now has many recreational opportunities due to
significant water quality improvements since 1995.
Reduction of Combined Sewer Overflow Discharges to Charles River
1988 1989 19<0 1991 199219931994 r"r I1'1!: I1!1" I1'1;': I'l'n ' ...... .ml ................ .1 mr '.in 2fX]7 ;a> ;<>/i,'i)iu vm I ,'ui:<
" see chart at right
HNjrccsMWRA ft EM New Engbuld
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The Urban Environmental
Program: Making a Difference
for Urban Communities
Residents of New England's largest cities face a disproportionate share
of health risks from environmental threats compared to residents in
other parts of the region. Urban residents -especially children and older
residents - live with daily health
hazards from toxics, heavy
metals, poor air quality inside
and outside, traffic, limited
' • open and green space.
JJI
A New England's Urban
vironmental Program (UEP),
3 only such program in the
country, addresses the wide
i*" range of urban environmental
problems through a process
East Boston and Chelsea Youth learn how that directly involves the
urban watersheds work from the UEP community. The program
Team on Earth Day. works to create a safer,
healthier environment in cities
in Connecticut, Massachusetts
and Rhode Island. Members of the UEP team listen to community
concerns, identify projects that respond to these concerns and provide
the funding, guidance and expertise to address public health problems
most important to urban residents.
The Urban Environmental Program works with people who live and work
in the community to make improvements that can be measured, and
create systems that will be long-lasting. The program is dedicated to
restoring urban neighborhoods so they are healthier and cleaner places
to live for local residents.
In Roxbury, Massachusetts., the UEP Team worked with the Food Project
and community partners to restore two acres of vacant land into small
neighborhood farms. As a result, the amount of farmed land in Roxbury
increased from four to 21 acres and more than 3,000 youth got involved
in production of more than 300,000 pounds of organic produce a year.
In Hartford, Connecticut, UEP worked with local partners to launch a
multi-lingual website called "Hartford: Your Health and Your Environment,
What You Should Know. " The web site gives residents information on lead
poisoning, asthma, indoor air quality, outdoor air quality, brownfields,
open space and environmental justice, www.healthy.hartford.gov
Launched in 1995, The Urban Environmental Program's bottom-up,
community-based approach helps create a sustainable infrastructure that
increases the capacity for community involvement in a way that produces
measurable and sustainable results in urban neighborhoods.
developed stormwater plans to improve the quality of water flowing
from streets into drains that lead to the Charles. In 1985, Boston
Harbor was among the nation's dirtiest harbors. With billions of
dollars invested in anti-pollution strategies, eight miles of beaches
are now open to swimmers, seals and porpoises have returned, and
the lobster and shellfish industry contributes more than $10 million
a year to the economy.
• Connecticut River - Fish, wildlife and recreation have returned to
many parts of the 410-mile Connecticut River where fish stocks were
once woefully low and recreation virtually non-existent. Residents and
local officials worked with EPA to eliminate hundreds of millions of
gallons of sewage and industrial discharges. They also worked with
power companies to better regulate the enormous flow of water and
to create passageways for fish thatspawn upstream. Today, strollers
and anglers, boaters and swimmers are returning to the riverjust as
fish and wildlife are.
• Revitalizing the Woonasquatucket - After years of neglect during
and after the Industrial Revolution, the 19-mile Woonasquatucket
River in Rhode Island is now coming back to life. More than 50 acres
of abandoned waterfront in Providence have been restored and
construction has begun on a 5.5-mile bikeway linking neighborhoods
and parks in one of the state's poorest communities. The Rising
Sun Mill dam, 1.5 miles from the mouth of the river, is scheduled
for fish passage by the end of 2007, making it one of the first fish
passages in Rhode Island on an urban river system. EPA's Urban
Environmental Program, after learning in 1996 that city residents
were living off fishing and eel trapping in the river, tested and found
dioxin contamination in the lower river. The resulting "catch and
release" fish advisory has been in place since 1996.
• Restoring a marsh at the Blackstone - Seventeen acres of
habitat along the Blackstone River in Rhode Island were restored
by removing a former drive-in theater within a heavily urbanized
watershed. The site of the Lonsdale Marsh is one of the most highly
valued freshwater wetlands in Rhode Island and creates a continuous
wooded riparian buffer along the Blackstone River. In a parallel effort,
EPA has put $130 million of brownfields funds into the six New
England states since 1994. An estimated $524 million more has
been leveraged to support more cleanup and development.
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the state built a bicycle trail next to the restoration site. The $2.6 million project helped pave the way for
the eventual return of river herring, shad and American eel, which are expected back once fish passages
are installed along the lower four dams of the river. Already some 40 species offish have been identified
- a testament to the return of this industrial river.
Using Our Space Wisely
EPA's Smart Growth and Brownfields programs:
Cities become cleaner, safer and healthier when life returns to open space and vacant
buildings that were once written off as contaminated. In urban areas, Smart Growth efforts
encourage compact development that brings commercial and residential activity to an area that serves
pedestrians and is served by public transportation. A healthy urban community is dense, but also retains
green space. Cities can encourage Smart Growth by cleaning and redeveloping Brownfields, which are
vacant lots and buildings with real or perceived contamination. EPA's Brownfields program provides
grants to assess and clean contamination so properties across New England can be turned into new
businesses, housing, playing fields and parks.
• Winooski - I n revitalizing its downtown, Winooski preserved or restored nearly 100 acres of natural
habitat, returned vacant properties to productive use, and created several neighborhood parks. The
Winooski Downtown Revitalization project created a thriving, attractive center with needed housing,
stores, offices and public spaces. The city re-established the street grid that had been demolished in
the 1970s and added wider sidewalks. The city also opened a promenade that connects the town to
the Winooski River. This work earned the city an EPA National Award for Smart Growth Achievement.
• East Boston - The UEP Team worked with EPA enforcement to design a $1.2 million SEP to restore
and revitalize 4.5 acres of waterfront property on the Chelsea Creek in East Boston. Citizens in East
Boston had been advocating for a park along the creek since 1975. I n 1979, the City of Boston purchased
the land along the waterfront to create a passive recreational area, but was stymied by contamination.
The Chelsea Creek is the most polluted tributary to the Boston Harbor and is the second most polluted
body of water in Massachusetts. The city added $400,000 to the project.
Total Number of Brownfields Grants Awarded in EPA Region 1 (1994-2006)
10
20 30 40
total number of grants
50
60
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(from top to bottom) Traditional neighborhood
development; The RiverWalk in Winooski,
Vermont; Downtown redevelopment in Winooski,
Vermont; Affordable housing in East Boston.
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• Lewiston -The 1.2 million-square-foot Bates Mill that closed in the early 1990s has been redeveloped
to provide 1,200 jobs and $500,000 in tax revenue through a Banknorth facility, restaurants, a
telecommunications company and parts of the University of Maine. This project received $775,000 in
Brownfields funding that was leveraged into $41 million in state, private and local funds.
• Chicopee - Television Channel 22 built a $2 million state of the art news and production studio on
an 8.5-acre former lumber yard and bedding factory site that received Brownfields funding. EPA did
the environmental assessment that led to cleanup of the site, making the real estate valuable to the
television station as an investor.
• New Bedford - An industrial park under construction on 25 acres of a former textile mill will
generate 350 new jobs. In 1999, EPA made an initial investment of $61,000 for a Brownfields site
assessment that showed some contamination that may have posed a redevelopment risk. With
additional funding from EPA's Brownfields Showcase Community program, and matched with
funds from other federal and state sources, a multimillion dollar cleanup and redevelopment were
made possible.
• Somerville and Springfield - Eight Head Start classrooms serving 126 children were opened in
2005 after Community Action Agency of Somerville worked with the city to assess sites for contamination
using EPA Brownfield funds. I n Springfield, community leaders used part of an assessment grant at the
site of a former school that had been contaminated by industrial work next door. The assessment led to
the selection of a developer, who constructed a 9,000 square foot building serving 190 children.
• Bridgeport - The former 8.5 acre Jenkins Valve site was converted into a 5,500-seat ball park,
skating rink and museum. The ball park was built with $11 million in private investments, $1 million of
local funds and $2 million in state funding. The project added 58 jobs to the local economy.
• Nashua - A brownfields assessment grant determined the extent of asbestos contamination in a
parcel once used to dispose of building debris and asbestos materials. A Brownfields cleanup grant
allowed the land to eventually hold a 24,000 square foot senior center with 43 housing units and a
billiards room, computer room, library, craft area and gym.
• Londonderry - The Northeast Enterprise Automobile Distribution Center sits on a five-acre
Brownfields site that was most recently home to Lamont Labs, which made chemical products such
as windshield washer fluid and pool maintenance chemicals. After a federal investment of $50,000 to
determine environmental risks, the state invested to clean the site and prepare for its redevelopment.
The city collects vehicle registration fees paid by the car rental company.
(top photo)
The UEP Team and urban residents transform
a vacant lot into a passive park and urban
garden in Hartford, CT.
(bottom photo)
Volunteers work with the UEP Team to clean
up trash from illegal dumping on vacant lots
in Providence, Rl.
• New Britain - A Brownfields assessment grant helped the city construct an organic farm on formerly contaminated Sandelli Greenhouses after
it closed in 1997 and became a dumping ground. This non-profit farm provides education in organic gardening and sustainable agriculture and has
enhanced the urban environment through demonstrating environmentally responsible farming and providing greenspace in an urban area.
• Vermont Forum on Sprawl - A Burlington group is working to both raise awareness and create urban design strategies that include walkable
neighborhoods and other pedestrian-friendly design elements. By encouraging urban living that does not depend on automobiles, the Forum on
Sprawl, funded with a $30,000 Healthy Communities grant, is also helping to address ailments such as childhood obesity, asthma and diabetes.
The Forum on Sprawl is also working with local school children to help them understand and evaluate urban design and raising awareness of
issues such as traffic planning, green space, public transportation, and individual physical activity.
• Researchers at the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College are developing a curriculum to help address the fact that
surface waters in Burlington are polluted by bacteria from stormwater and runoff. Because public education is critical to reducing urban surface
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water pollution, the curriculum was tested on Burlington middle
school students. Students monitored water quality and a university
laboratory verified data. The project was funded with a $27,318
Healthy Communities grant from EPA.
Giving Citizens
the Too I s to
Make Change
Residents of New England's urban areas don't
always have the access or funding needed to protect their urban
environment. EPA's environmental justice and urban environmental
programs work with all residents of New England to create healthier
and cleaner communities. EPA has worked with citizens, students
and community activists to ensure that they have the means to
keep their own neighborhoods clean and safe. The success of this
program comes from listening to residents' concerns and ideas and
then responding to specific requests for help. Staff with the urban
team at EPA believe that residents know best what they need to
protect their own environment, and that EPA can make the biggest
difference byjoining with community groups.
• Educating Teens-Scientists at EPA New England's laboratory in
Chelmsford regularly provide tours and show students the scientific
tools available at the lab and encourage them to consider careers
in environmental science. After working with a teen environmental
group in nearby Lawrence, the lab is working to expand the program
to other student grouops in urban communities. The biologists,
chemists and other environmental scientists at the lab will try
to interest teens in environmental careers using demonstrations
and hands-on training in the lab. They offer training in air quality
monitoring, water quality monitoring, lead detection and biology or
chemistry analysis.
• Job Training - More than 600 New England residents have
been trained in environmental jobs through EPA's Brownfields Job
Training Programs, with graduates earning an average of $13 an
hour. Thisjob training program recruits, trains and places residents
who come from communities with brownfields property for careers
in the environmental field. This helps to get more sites assessed
and cleaned for development.
• Web page - The Urban Environmental Program's Web page,
which provides links to community organizations that work on
environmental issues, is a resource page for urban work in New
England. The page is updated regularly and is designed for easy
navigation. It is one of the most frequently visited EPA sites.
www.epa.gov/ne/eco/uep
LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS. HEALTHY COMMUNITIES.
About CARE
The Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) program,
sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is a
competitive grant program that offers an innovative way for communities
to take action to reduce toxic pollution. Through CARE, communities
create local collaborative partnerships that implement local solutions
to reduce releases of and minimize exposure to toxic pollutants.
EPA helps CARE communities assess the environmental risks they
face and provides access to voluntary programs to address local
environmental priorities. I n addition, EPA offers support for communities
to develop their own approaches to reducing toxics.
There are four steps in the CARE process: joining together, identifying
problems and solutions, implementing solutions and reducing risks, and
becoming self-sustaining.
The Green New Haven Initiative is an example of a New England CARE
community that is working to reduce its risks and is successful in
leveraging funds and
assistance in its tasks
on improving indoor
and outdoor air
quality, protecting its
sensitive waterways
and coastline,
preserving green
space and energy
management. The
City of New Haven
identified diesel
emission as a top
air toxic risk and has
focused on retrofitting its school buses, its city fleet of trucks and now
construction equipment. It is working collaboratively with the Port
of New Haven regarding land use and its diesel emissions. Recent
success include: a Best Practices checklist for auto recycling facilities
and site assessments of auto salvage yards; waterfront improvements
with plantings and anti-idling outreach and signage; enrollment of 15
businesses into an energy efficiency program; participation of 616
households in its renewable energy purchase commitment; a series
of pollution prevention workshops on boilers for New Haven facilities
and success in getting St. Raphael's Hospital to switch to low-sulfur
fuel; Environmental Management System mentoring of 4 manufacturing
facilities; an active Asthma Coalition improving residential indoor air; the
New Haven School system implementing EPA's Tools for Schools as well
as training some students in monitoring of ambient air and promoting
the use of new bike trails and bike racks throughout the city.
New Haven CARE project addresses toxics at port.
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URBAN
CONTACTS
Asthma
Rhona Julien
617-918-1782
Julien.rhona@epa.gov
Diesel Exhaust Emissions
Lucy Edmondson
617-918-1004
Edmondson.lucy@epa.gov
Environmental Justice
Kwabena Kyei-Aboagye
617-918-1609
Kyei-aboagye.kwabena@epa.gov
Indoor Air
Eugene Benoit
617-918-1639
Benoit.eugene@epa.gov
Lead
James Bryson
617-918-1524
Brysonjamesm@epa.gov
Mercury
Jeri Weiss
617-918-1568
Weissjeri@epa.gov
Rivers
Gerald Potamis
617-918-1651
Potamis.gerald@epa.gov
Urban Environmental Program
Kristi Rea
617-918-1595
Rea.kristi@epa.gov
• Funding - With help from EPA funding, a River Rangers Program was created in Providence to
watch over the health of the Woonasquatucket River. EPA has many competitive grant programs
that can help urban communities fund qualified projects to improve the quality of the environment
and public health in their neighborhoods. Pleasevisitwww.epa.gov/region1/grants/index.html
to learn more about funding opportunities.
• Cleaning contamination in community gardens - Scientists from EPA's laboratory worked
with Boston University and community groups to identify chemical hazards in inner city vegetable
gardens. In 2006, the laboratory provided soil analysis to assist in mapping the distribution of
PAHs and toxic metals (arsenic, chromium, and copper). This information is helping community
gardeners identify contaminated soil that need to be replaced. Contaminated soils in community
vegetable gardens were identified as a community concern at EPA's 2004 Science of Environmental
Justice conference.
• Listening to citizens - Residents who live around Chelsea Creek in eastern Massachusetts
talked about their environmental concerns at a listening session involving 35 government officials,
non-profit representatives, healthcare professionals and school officials. The goal was to let
residents know about programs aimed at making sure local polluters comply with the laws and to
get community input to guide future environmental activities and enforcement. The session was
arranged by EPA New England at the request of the Chelsea Creek Action Group.
LINKS
to Region 1 Web Sites
Air: www.epa.gov/ne/topics/index.html#air
Asthma: www.epa.gov/iaq/asthma/index.html
Brownfields: www.epa.gov/region01/brownfields/index.html
CARE: www.epa.gov/CARE
Environmental Justice: www.epa.gov/ne/ej/index.html
"Keep It Clean" Campaign for Lead safety:
www.epa.gov/reg ion01/eco/ne_lead/assets/pdfs/ENGLISH_KI C2001.pdf
Lead-Based Paint: www.epa.gov/ne/enforcement/leadpaint/index.html
Lead Hazards: www.epa.gov/ne/topics/pollutants/lead.html.
Mercury: www.epa.gov/mercury/advisories.htm
Pest Management: www.epa.gov/NE/eco/pest/grants.html
Rivers: www.epa.gov/region01/topics/water/watersheds.html
Smart Growth: www.epa.gov/region01/ra/sprawl/index.html
Smoke-Free Homes: www.epa.gov/smokefree
Urban Environmental Program: www.epa.gov/region01/eco/uep
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency New England
EPA901-R-07-002
April 2007
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