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  Brownfields  2006

  Grant  Fact Sheet

          Boston,  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 Boston was selected to receive two
brownfields assessment grants. Boston (population
589,141) has been a  center of commerce and industrial
manufacturing for over 200 years. The city has tar-
geted four neighborhoods for assessment activities:
Roxbury, Hyde Park, East Boston, and Dorchester.
These areas have minority populations ranging from
39 to 87 percent, and poverty rates ranging from 10.4
to 27.1 percent. Two of the neighborhoods are located
in a federally designated Empowerment Zone and
Enterprise Community. The city has 2,000 brownfields
parcels in its inventory that are typically in lower-
income communities. In the four target neighborhoods,
brownfields inhibit redevelopment and growth through
actual or perceived environmental contamination. The
city has acquired a number of abandoned commercial
 Assessment Grants
 $200,000 for hazardous substances
 $200,000 for petroleum

 EPA has selected the City of Boston for two
 brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous
 substances and petroleum grant funds will be
 used to conduct Phase I and II environmental site
 assessments, community outreach, and site
 prioritization in the Boston communities of
 Roxbury, Hyde Park,  East Boston, and
 Dorchester.
 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 Boston, MA
 617-635-0103

 The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
 yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
 in this fact sheet are subject to change.
parcels in these areas through tax foreclosure and
intends to work with the communities to determine
cleanup and reuse priorities. The revitalized
brownfields will be used for commercial and industrial
purposes. Brownfields redevelopment will create jobs,
mitigate environmental hazards, increase the tax base,
generate new businesses, and promote economic
revitalization.
                                                 Solid Waste and
                                                 Emergency Response
                                                 (5105T)
                         EPA 560-F-06-008
                         May 2006
                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

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