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 Brownfields 2005
 Grant  Fact Sheet
          Brewer,  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 City of Brewer  was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant. The bankruptcy of the
city's largest taxpayer and employer, a paper manufac-
turing business that closed in January 2004 after almost
a century of operations, has placed significant pres-
sures on the entire community of Brewer (population
8,951). In 2000, the median household income of
residents in the target area around the abandoned mill
in South Brewer was already significantly below the
state average. The ramifications of the mill closure
include increased joblessness, lowering of the tax base,
increased tax burdens, reduction in city programs, and
an 18 percent poverty rate. The city hopes to clean up
the former mill site as a waterfront park, public court-
                                    Assessment Grant
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                                    $350,000 for hazardous substances

                                    EPA has selected the City of Brewer for a
                                    brownfields assessment grant. Grant funds will be
                                    used to conduct additional Phase II subsurface
                                    investigations at the abandoned Eastern Fine
                                    Paper Mill site in South Brewer, remedial action
                                    and reuse planning, and community outreach
                                    activities.
                                    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: City of Brewer, ME
                                    207-989-7500

                                    The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
                                    yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
                                    in this fact sheet are subject to change.
                                  yards, and greenspace. Redevelopment also will serve
                                  as a catalyst to reverse the slum and blight of the area,
                                  reduce the risk of hazardous contaminants, and dimin-
                                  ish the stigma that has impacted property values.
                                                 Solid Waste and
                                                 Emergency Response
                                                 (5105T)
                                                          EPA560-F-05-172
                                                          May 2005
                                                          www.epa.gov/brownfields

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