Brownfields Area-Wide Plannini
i
Pilot Project Fact Sheet
EPA Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communi-
ties, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent,
assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brown-
fields. A brownfield 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. In 2002, the Small
Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization
Act was passed to help states and communities around
the country clean up and revitalize brownfields sites. Un-
der this law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible
applicants to assess and clean up brownfield sites.
Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Pilot
Program
EPA is piloting an area-wide planning approach to com-
munity brownfield challenges, which recognizes that
revitalization of the area surrounding the brownfield site(s)
is just as critical to the successful reuse of the property as
assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment of an individual
site. The pilot program will help further community-based
partnership efforts within underserved or economically
disadvantaged neighborhoods by confronting local envi-
ronmental and public health challenges related to brown-
fields, while creating a planning framework to advance
economic development and job creation.
Pilot Project Description
EPA has selected the Town of Sanford as a Brownfields
Area-Wide Planning Pilot Program recipient. Located in the
southwestern corner of Maine, Sanford (population 22,000)
was a thriving mill town until the 1950s, when the textile
industry collapsed. Other manufacturing and warehous-
ing operations followed. Sanford will focus this assistance
on the Mill Yard area, 45 acres located in downtown San-
ford, that once was the economic heart of town. The Mill
Yard has a history of extensive industrial use and contains
at least 20 brownfields. The nearby neighborhoods are
the most distressed in town, and the unemployment rate
Sanford, ME
Pilot Program Description
EPA is awarding approximately $4
million in total across 23 recipients.
Recipients will each receive up
to approximately $175,000 in EPA
cooperative agreement and/or direct
technical assistance. Assistance will
help recipients initiate development of an area-wide
plan and identify next steps and resources needed to
implement the plan.
Contacts
For additional information, brownfields news and
events, and publications and links, visit the EPA
Brownfields Web site (http://www.epa.aov/brownfieldsy
EPA's Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization
(202) 566-0633
Assistance Recipient: Town of Sanford, ME
(207)608-4171
The information presented in this fact sheet comes
from the project proposal; EPA cannot attest to the ac-
curacy of this information. The cooperative agreement
and/or direct technical assistance have not yet been
negotiated. Activities described in this fact sheet are
subject to change.
is higher than the surrounding areas. In 2005, the town
began a conceptual redevelopment plan for the Mill Yard,
downtown, and Mousam River waterfront. The brownfields
area-wide plan will focus on site reuse plans that maximize
the reuse of existing infrastructure and allow for additional
greenspace and recreational opportunities. Development
of the plan will facilitate community involvement and enable
the town to prioritize brownfield assessment and cleanup,
incorporate energy conservation and alternative energy
into reuse, and coordinate corridor growth.
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA560-F-10-003H
October 2010
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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