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  Brownfields  2005

  Grant  Fact  Sheet

      Kennebec Valley

             Council of

     Governments,  ME

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 Kennebec Valley Council of Governments
(KVCOG) was selected to receive a brownfields
assessment grant.  The KVCOG serves 176,620  people
in 68 municipalities in Kennebec, Somerset, and
western Waldo Counties. The disused mills and
manufacturing operations that characterize the region's
many unremediated brownfields sites are a legacy of
the region's economic history. The state has identified
49 potential brownfields in the region, which is suffer-
ing from job losses, underemployment, and rising
poverty. Since January 2001, central Maine has lost
2,700 comparatively high-paying manufacturing jobs.
  Assessment Grant    (20051
  $200,000 for hazardous substances
  EPA has selected the Kennebec Valley Council of
  Governments for a brownfields assessment grant.
  Grant funds will be used to review the state's list
  of brownfields sites in the region, educate munici-
  palities and residents about the Council's
  brownfields initiative, solicit information on
  additional brownfields for the inventory, develop
  site selection criteria, conduct Phase I site
  assessments on up to six sites, select up to three
  sites for Phase II assessments, and identify
  possible reuse options for selected sites.
  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: Kennebec Valley Council of
  Governments, ME
  207-453-4258, ext. 22
  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
  yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
  in this fact sheet are subject to change.
The unemployment rate in Somerset County alone has
reached 8.9 percent, and overall unemployment in the
region is higher than the state average. Poverty rates in
the region range from 11.1 to 17 percent. The
brownfields scattered along the river valleys, particu-
larly those in and near the urban areas, are obstructing
the economic revitalization of this depressed region.
The KVCOG's plan to initiate brownfields identifica-
tion and assessment will rekindle hope in the ability of
the region to clean up contaminated brownfields, and
restore new economic opportunities.
                                                Solid Waste and
                                                Emergency Response
                                                (5105T)
                        EPA 560-F-05-023
                        May 2005
                        www.epa.gov/brownfields

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