I 3) ro 5 o Brownfields 2005 Grant Fact Sheet West Springfield, MA EPA Brownfields Program EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu- nities, and other stakeholders in economic development to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. Abrownfield site is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. On January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields Law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through four competitive grant programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. Addi- tionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism. Community Description The Town of West Springfield was selected to receive a brownfields cleanup grant. West Springfield (popula- tion 27,899) is involved in an effort to revitalize the 750-acre Merrick neighborhood. Merrick is the poorest of the town's neighborhoods, with a large immigrant population, a poverty rate of 27.6 percent, and a substandard housing stock. Although Merrick com- prises less than 15 percent of the town's land area, it is the location of more than half of West Springfield's active hazardous waste sites. The Trade Center site, once a railway repair facility, is now a mostly vacant industrial condominium complex. Environmental conditions at the site have led to the abandonment of units and have deterred remaining business owners from undertaking any major capital improvements to Cleanup Grant 120051 $156,560 for hazardous substances EPA has selected the Town of West Springfield for a brownfields cleanup grant. Grant funds will be used to address hazardous substances and fuel oil contamination at the West Springfield Trade Center, a 5.75-acre site that was home to a major Boston & Albany Railway Company repair facility from 1860 to 1959. Remediation activities will include excavation and removal of soil, monitoring and sampling of groundwater, and preparation of documentation including a deed restriction for a 25,000-square-foot area that contains soil and groundwater contaminated by a fuel oil release from an underground storage tank. Contacts For further information, including specific grant contacts, additional grant information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/ brownfields. EPA Region 1 Brownfields Team 617-918-1221 http://www.epa.gov/region01/brownfields/ Grant Recipient: Town of West Springfield, MA 413-263-3045 The cooperative agreement for this grant has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change. their units. Cleanup of the Trade Center site is ex- pected to facilitate the redevelopment of this underutilized property, transform a blight in the neigh- borhood, induce existing owners to invest and expand, spur the creation of jobs, generate tax revenues, and stimulate other redevelopment efforts in the area. Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA560-F-05-019 May 2005 www.epa.gov/brownfields ------- |