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Brownfields 2005
Grant Fact Sheet
Springfield, MA
EPA Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders in economic development
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 Springfield was selected to receive two
brownfields cleanup grants. Springfield, located in
southwestern Massachusetts, has a population of
152,000. The two target neighborhoods are East
Springfield and the South End. East Springfield (popu-
lation 6,317) is home to the majority of the city's
industrial operations. Fifteen percent of neighborhood
residents, many of whom are seniors, live below the
poverty level. The seven-acre former Hampden Color
and Chemical site is among the largest of the city's 75
brownfields. The city is working with a preferred
developer that plans to rehabilitate the 141,000-square-
foot industrial building, and maintain the landscaping
around the site. Cleanup and redevelopment will create
new jobs and help protect wetlands and other ecologi-
Cleanup Grants
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$200,000 for hazardous substances
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the City of Springfield for two
brownfields cleanup grants. Hazardous sub-
stances funds will be used to clean up the former
Hampden Color and Chemical site in East Spring-
field. Between 1968 and 1998, the site was used
as a solvent recycling facility and as a storage
area for hazardous waste. Petroleum funds will
be used to clean up contamination at the former
Gemini Building in the South End neighborhood of
the city. The contamination at this former textile
manufacturing site resulted from a release of fuel
oil from an underground storage tank. Funds also
will be used to conduct community involvement
activities for both sites.
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
617-918-1221
http://www.epa.gov/region01/brownfields/
Grant Recipient: City of Springfield, MA
413-787-6020
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
in this fact sheet are subject to change.
cal resources in the area. A majority of the working
residents in the South End neighborhood (population
3,223) were employed at the textile manufacturing site,
the Gemini Building, until it closed in the 1980s. Once
the plant shut its doors, the economy of the neighbor-
hood bottomed out, and residents left. Today, 50
percent of South End residents live below the poverty
level, and the area is plagued with high crime rates and
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA560-F-05-171
May 2005
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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few employment opportunities. Cleanup of the site is
expected to add value to the property, attract a devel-
oper, and help stabilize the area with jobs and economic
development. Redevelopment is expected to generate
tax revenues for the city and eliminate blight that has
been attracting crime to the neighborhood.
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