Brownfields  2010 Revolving  Loan  Fund Grant
               Fact Sheet
               Gardner,  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 City of Gardner was selected to receive a
brownfields revolving loan fund grant. Gardner
(population 20,770) is located in Worcester County in
north-central Massachusetts. During the last 50 years,
all of the city's major furniture manufacturers closed  or
moved away, ending a 200-year history of
manufacturing that won Gardner the nickname "Chair
City of the World." State and city records show that
more than 100 brownfield sites now lie vacant and
blighted. Residential neighborhoods surround the
majority of these old mills, which also are located close
to waterways in the downtown area. Gardner's
unemployment rate is now 33 percent higher than the
statewide rate. Per capita income is 39 percent less than
the state per capita income. Brownfield cleanups
conducted through the RLF grant are expected to reduce
contamination and alleviate blight, thereby helping
Gardner put its former manufacturing properties back
into productive reuse.
                   Revolving Loan Fund Grant

                   $750,000 for hazardous substances
                   $250,000 for petroleum

                   EPA has selected the City of Gardner for a
                   brownfields revolving loan fund grant. The grant
                   will be used to capitalize a revolving loan fund from
                   which the City of Gardner will provide up to five
                   loans and five subgrants to support cleanup activities
                   for sites contaminated with hazardous substances
                   and petroleum. Grant funds also will be used for
                   outreach and marketing of the program.

                   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 Gardner,MA
                   978-630-4074

                   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-10-175
        Apr 10

-------