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Brownfields 2008
Grant Fact Sheet
Framingham, 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 this 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. Additionally, funding support is
provided to state and tribal response programs through
a separate mechanism.
Community Description
The Town of Framingham was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant. Located about 20 miles
west of Boston, Framingham (population 67,000) is the
geographic center of the Metro West region of Massa-
chusetts. Although most of the town has benefited
from regional growth, areas such as Downtown and
Southeast Framingham have not kept pace. Low-
income families and individuals and most of the town's
immigrant and minority populations are concentrated in
these neighborhoods. In addition, most sites with
known contamination are located in Southeast
Framingham, which was historically used for industrial
and manufacturing purposes. In 1985, the manufactur-
ing sector in the city generated 14,888 jobs; today, it
generates just over 5,000. The presence of brownfields
has become a barrier to economic growth and job
Assessment Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Town of Framingham for a
brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous sub-
stances grant funds will be used to conduct up to
eight Phase I and up to three Phase II environmen-
tal site assessments in the Downtown and South-
east Framingham neighborhoods. Grant funds also
will be used to support community outreach
activities.
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/regionl/brownfields
Grant Recipient: Town of Framingham, MA
508-532-5455
The information presented in this fact sheet comes
from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the
accuracy of this information. The cooperative
agreement for the grant has not yet been negoti-
ated. Therefore, activities described in this fact
sheet are subject to change.
creation. The state's inventory currently lists 438
contaminated sites in Framingham. Brownfields
assessment will help the city identify areas of contami-
nation and determine appropriate reuse of sites.
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA560-F-08-012
April 2008
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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