United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA500-F-97-112
April 1997
National Brownfields
Assessment Pilot
New Bedford, MA
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101)
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower States, communities, and other
stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and
sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and
an active potential for redevelopment or reuse. Between 1995 and 1996, EPA funded 76 National and Regional Brownfields
Assessment Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations of brownfields
solutions. EPAis funding morethan 27 Pilots in 1997. The Pilots are intended to provide EPA, States, Tribes, municipalities,
and communities with useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods to promote a unified
approach to site assessment, environmental cleanup, and redevelopment.
OVERVIEW
EPA has selected the City of New Bedford as a
Brownfields Pilot. New Bedford has undergone
industrial changes over its history, beginning with the
whaling industry that later gave way to textile and
apparel manufacturing in the late 1800s. The city is
working to diversify and supplement its industrial
base, which has eroded due to the departure of
manufacturing industries and changes in federal
fishing industry policies. The city believes that the
fish processing capabilities and transportation facilities
in the area provide a setting with great potential for
expansion of its aquaculture industry. New Bedford
already has begun investigating vacant and underused
industrial sites to determine their suitability for
aquaculture development.
The pilot will use the city's initial investigations to
identify candidate sites, many of which formerly
housed mill operations. Many sites may be adapted
with few modifications to the aquaculture industry.
Growth of the aquaculture business will help alleviate
New Bedford's economic and social problems.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
New Bedford,
Massachusetts
Contacts:
Gary Gomes
City of New Bedford
Grants Administration
(508)979-1466
Date of Award:
April 1997
Amount: $172,000
Site Profile: The pilot will
target sites that formerly
supported milling or
fishing operations and
show potential for use in
aquaculture development.
John Podgurski
U.S. EPA Region 1
(617)573-9681
podgurski.john@
epamail.epa.gov
Visit the EPA Brownfields Website at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields
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OBJECTIVES
New Bedford's goal is to convert area brownfields
into productive aquaculture sites in accordance with
existing city plans. The pilot also will contribute to
the Commonwealth's efforts to develop the City's
aquaculture business. Pilot objectives include
developing an inventory of appropriate brownfields
sites, securing community input, identifying
remediation costs, and documenting the process to
facilitate replicability at other brownfields areas.
ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this pilot include:
• Developing site selection criteria, including the tax
status of the property and the remedial work required;
• Evaluating potential sites for aquaculture use in
accordance with the selection criteria;
• Conducting environmental assessments attwo sites,
including drilling, field sampling, data analysis, and
report preparation; and
• Integrating site-specific data into the city's existing
geographic information system.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been
negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact
sheet are subject to change.
National Brownfields Assessment Pilot New Bedford, Massachusetts
April 1997 EPA500-F-97-112
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