Brownfields  2005

  Grant  Fact Sheet

  Androscoggin Valley

            Council of

        Governments,

       Western Maine

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 Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments was
selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant.
Androscoggin, Franklin, and Oxford Counties in
western Maine (combined population 188,015) have
long been dependent on industry and manufacturing for
their economy. By the late 19th Century, western
Maine was a manufacturing center known for shoes,
textiles, pulp and paper, and wood products. Significant
declines in manufacturing during the past few decades
  Assessment Grant    (2005
  $200,000 for hazardous substances
  EPA has selected the Androscoggin Valley
  Council of Governments for a brownfields
  assessment grant. The grant will be used to
  develop a comprehensive inventory of former
  industrial and commercial sites in the region. The
  inventory will be maintained on a geographic
  information system. Four Phase I and three Phase
  II site assessments will be completed.
  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: Androscoggin Valley Council of
  Governments, ME
  207-783-9186
  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
  yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
  in this fact sheet are subject to change.
precipitated severe job losses: from 1993 to 2002,
manufacturing jobs declined by 27 percent. Many of
the former industrial sites have ceased business,
leaving environmentally compromised and contami-
nated sites that remain idle despite easy access to
transportation and municipal services. While the causes
are not yet known, Androscoggin County has the
highest incidence of cancers in Maine and a higher rate
of asthma than the statewide and national averages.
Restoration of brownfields sites will stimulate interest
in redevelopment and economic regrowth.
                                               Solid Waste and
                                               Emergency Response
                                               (5105T)
                       EPA 560-F-05-020
                       May 2005
                       www.epa.gov/brownfields

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