United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response(5101)
EPA500-F-99-110
June 1999
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
SEPA
Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Salem, 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. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded
up to $200,000 over two years), to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup and redevelopment models;job training
pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities affected
by brownfieldstofacilitatecleanupofbrownfieldssites and preparetrainees for future employmentintheenvironmental
field; and, cleanup revolving loan fund programs (each funded up to $500,000 over five years) to capitalize loan funds
to make loans for the environmental cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs 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.
BACKGROUND
EPAhas selected the City of Salem for a Brownfields
Pilot. Salem (population 38,091) has experienced an
increase in unemployment and a decline in its tax base
as many of the city's tanneries and electronics
manufacturers have gone out of business or relocated.
When these businesses closed their facilities, they left
behind properties suspected of being contaminated
with hazardous substances, including arsenic,
chromium, beryllium, and other heavy metals, as well
as trichloroethylene (TCE) and other solvents.
Because of these concerns, many of these sites are
underused or completely abandoned.
One of the most prominent brownfields areas is the
132-acre Boston-Bridge-Mason Street corridor, an
important gateway to downtown Salem. This area,
which contains light industry, tanneries, and automotive
businesses, is surrounded by low-to moderate-income
neighborhoods. Residents here have not only lost j obs
due to factory closings, but are also negatively impacted
by the perception of contamination in the surrounding
properties. Overall, Salem's per capita income is
$16,155, and its poverty rate is 11.9 percent.
PILOTSNAPSHOT
Salem, Massachusetts
Contacts:
City of Salem
(978) 745-9595
Dateof Announcement:
June 1999
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
sites within the 132-acre
Boston-Bridge-Mason
Street corridor, an important
gateway into Salem.
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA- Region 1
(617)573-9681
Visit the EPA Region 1 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region01/remed/brnfld/
For further information, including specific Pilot contacts,
additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and
publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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OBJECTIVES
The Pilot's objective is to involve community
stakeholders in the site-selection and assessment
process, in order to coordinate the Pilot's activities
with Salem's plans to clean up and redevelop the
Boston-Bridge-Mason Street corridor. The city will
use the Pilot and other revitalization and planning
projects to improve the economic and environmental
health of this important gateway into Salem. Through
these efforts, the city hopes to provide jobs to
community residents, clean up the environmental
contamination, and restore property values.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS ANDACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Forming an advisory group comprising community
stakeholders to assist with site selection and the
creation of a cleanup and redevelopment timetable;
• Performing assessments at up to four priority sites;
and
• Assisting with cleanup and redevelopment plans for
the assessed sites.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated;
therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot Salem, Massachusetts
June 1999 EPA500-F-99-110
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