Brownfields 2009 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet
               Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Metropolitan Boston, MA
EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states.
communities, and other stakeholders to work together to
prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse
brownfields. 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 cleanup and
revitalize brownfields sites. 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 Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) was
selected to receive a brownfields assessment coalition
grant. The MAPC's coalition partners are the Cities of
Peabody and Salem. The MAPC region (population
3,094,525) includes 101 municipalities, with the City of
Boston at the core. The coalition will focus on
brownfield sites in the North River corridor. The North
River, which runs through the cities, has a long history
of industrial activity. In the 19th century, tanneries and
mills used the river for both processing and disposal of
wastes. By the mid-2Oth century, industrial uses along
the river had declined, leaving behind large, vacant
parcels of underused and potentially contaminated sites.
About 20 parcels whose environmental status is
unknown have been identified along the corridor in
Peabody and Salem. In addition, the river's tributaries
in the two cities have experienced recurring flooding
problems since the 1950s. Brownfield assessments will
characterize sites and are expected to expedite the final
design of the flood mitigation process. Flood control is
expected to help facilitate site reuse and redevelopment
in the North River corridor.
                   Assessment Grant

                   $1,000,000 for hazardous substances

                   EPA has selected the Metropolitan Area Planning
                   Council for a brownfields assessment coalition
                   grant. Community-wide hazardous substances grant
                   funds will be used to update the coalition members'
                   inventory of brownfield sites, and conduct 40 Phase
                   I and 23 Phase II environmental site assessments.
                   Grant funds also will be used to conduct cleanup
                   planning, and support community outreach and
                   education 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
                   (http://www.epa.gov/brownfields).

                   EPA Region 1 Brownfields Team
                   (617)918-1424
                   EPA Region 1 Brownfields Web site
                   (http: //www. epa.gov/region 1 /brownfields)

                   Grant Recipient: Metropolitan Area Planning
                   Council,MA
                   (617) 451-2770 ext 2012

                   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 negotiated.
                   Therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are
                   subject to change.
  United States
  Environmental
  Protection Agency
  Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 560-F-09-257
        May 09

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