Brownfields 2009 Cleanup Grant  Fact
Sheet
Woonsocket, Rl
                                                                                         RECOUERY.GOV
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. On
February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed
into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The Recovery Act is an unprecedented effort to
jumpstart our economy, and create or save millions of
jobs. This law provided stimulus funds to the
Brownfields Program to award grants to evaluate and
clean up former industrial and commercial sites. Under
this law, EPA will provide financial assistance to
eligible applicants through four competitive grant
programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund
grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants.

Community Description

The City of Woonsocket was selected to receive a
brownfields cleanup grant. Woonsocket (population
43,224), located in northern Rhode Island, was once a
regional center for the textile manufacturing industry.
Mills and factories were concentrated along the banks
of the Blackstone River within the city's densely
populated urban core. With the loss of manufacturing
operations, these former mills and factories now stand
vacant, and many are adjacent to housing. There are
over 320 brownfields throughout the city that are
adversely affecting the environment, human health, and
the city's economy. The unemployment rate in the city
is 10 percent. Cleanup of the Lafayette Worsted
Company Office Buildings is a critical part of a larger
redevelopment plan being implemented by the city to
replace a 20-acre industrial brownfield with a new
middle school campus.
                                     Cleanup Grant

                                     $200,000 for hazardous substances
                                     (Recovery Act Funding)

                                     EPA has selected the City of Woonsocket for a
                                     brownfields cleanup grant. Hazardous substances
                                     grant funds will be used to clean up the former
                                     Lafayette Worsted Company Office Buildings at 150
                                     Hamlet Avenue. The site is a former textile mill and
                                     manufacturing facility contaminated with metals and
                                     semi-volatile organic compounds co-mingled with
                                     petroleum 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
                                     (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: City of Woonsocket,RI
                                     (401)767-1418

                                     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)
EPA560-F-09-134
        May 09

-------