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  Brownfields  2006

  Grant  Fact Sheet

  River Valley Growth

    Council,  Peru,  ME


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 River Valley Growth Council was selected to
receive a brownfields cleanup grant. The River Valley
area (population 16,721) is comprised often towns
within two counties of western Maine. This area was
the heart of early woodworking industries, most of
which have closed over the past 50 years, leaving a
landscape littered with razed structures and abandoned
sites. The Old Peru Diamond Match Mill site is the
largest of these sites. Because the topography of the
River Valley area allows for little industrial land, the
significant number of idled industrial properties has
had a very damaging effect on the local economy. The
mill's proximity to Spear Stream and the
Androscoggin River represents a potential threat to
  Cleanup  Grant
  $122,744 for hazardous substances
  EPA has selected the River Valley Growth
  Council for a brownfields cleanup grant. Hazard-
  ous substances grant funds will be used to
  remove pipe and tank insulation, transite panels,
  oil drums, and light ballasts from the Old Peru
  Diamond Match Mill at 1 Mill Road. From 1934
  to 1988, the mill was used to manufacture small
  wood products.
  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: River Valley Growth Council, ME
  207-369-0396

  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
  yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
  in this fact sheet are subject to change.
groundwater, surface water, and private wells in the
area. Cleanup of the Old Peru Diamond Match Mill will
help protect the local community by removing the threat
of contamination and allow the Council to turn the
abandoned manufacturing site into a state-of-the-art
biorefmery. This refinery is expected to attract skilled
professionals to the area and significantly expand the
local tax base. The portion of the property situated along
the Androscoggin River will remain open to the public,
providing access to one of the nation's best bass fishing
locations.
                                                 Solid Waste and
                                                 Emergency Response
                                                 (5105T)
                         EPA560-F-06-016
                         May 2006
                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

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