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  Brownfields  2006

  Grant  Fact Sheet

         Peabody, MA


EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders 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 Peabody was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant. Located in northeast
Massachusetts, the City of Peabody (population
48,129) has suffered from flooding, with four major
floods occurring in the last 10 years. The urban center
of the city, which has been most affected by the floods,
is an area with low-income housing and a poverty rate
of 25.3 percent, nearly five times the city rate. The
City of Peabody plans to assess the area adjacent to
the North River as a first step in implementing the
North River Widening Project, a project designed to
reduce the risk of flooding within the city. This section
of the North River has a long history of industrial
activities,  such as tanneries,  commercial cleaners, and
electronic equipment manufacturers. Brownfields
cleanup and redevelopment is expected to reduce
  Assessment Grant
  $200,000 for hazardous substances
  EPA has selected the City of Peabody for a
  brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous sub-
  stances grant funds will be used to conduct Phase
  I and II environmental site assessments and an
  ecological risk assessment at sites along the
  banks of the North River, a flood-prone former
  industrial area.
  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
  617-918-1424
  http://www.epa.gov/region01/brownfields/

  Grant Recipient: City of Peabody, MA
  978-536-7126

  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
  yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
  in this fact sheet are subject to change.
future flooding and facilitate the development of the
planned Downtown Riverwalk and greenspace. Revital-
ization of the brownfields sites is expected to enhance
commercial and residential development in the
underutilized downtown areas adjacent to the North
River.
                                                 Solid Waste and
                                                 Emergency Response
                                                 (5105T)
                         EPA560-F-06-012
                         May 2006
                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

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