Brownfields 2001 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet
Fitchburg, MA
EPA Brownfields Initiative
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
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. Additionally, funding support is
provided to state and tribal response programs through a
separate mechanism.
Background
EPA has selected the City of Fitchburg for a Brownfields
Assessment Pilot. Fitchburg (population 41,194) is a
densely populated mill city on the Nashua River in
north-central Massachusetts. Decades of pollution from
the mill industry were evident when brightly colored
toxins and dyes used in the industry changed the color of
the river daily. Paper mills have increasingly opted to
move closer to northern pulping plants, which has taken
atoll on the city's commercial sector. The closure of a
General Electric facility is an example of one of the
many recent blows to the city's commercial and
industrial base. Household and per capita incomes in
Fitchburg are well below regional and state averages,
and the income of the city's Asian population, in
particular, is much lower than average.
A key element of Fitchburg's Urban Renewal Plan is the
construction of an urban park that reintegrates the
Nashua River with the downtown. The Pilot will assist in
this effort. Fitchburg will build on previous brownfields
work performed under the Montachusett Regional
Planning Commission's Pilot (awarded in 1998)
Pilot Snapshot
Date of Announcement: 04/01/2001
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets brownfields along the
Nashua River, which is the site of a proposed urban
park that reintegrates the Nashua River with the
downtown.
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/regionl/brownfields)
Grant Recipient: City of Fitchburg,MA
(978)345-1018
Objectives
The city's long-term objective is to redevelop older
industrial sites in the area along the Nashua River
targeted by the city's Urban Renewal Plan. The Pilot
will complete three specific activities that will help
Fitchburg meet its objective. One will be to perform
Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments at
the 26 Willow Street and 49 Snow Street properties. If
necessary, a Phase III environmental site assessment
will be conducted at 26 Willow Street. The Pilot also
plans to conduct Phase I environmental site assessments
at three additional properties adjacent to the Nashua
River, in the area of the proposed urban park. Finally,
public meetings and newsletters are planned to inform
affected communities and solicit public input on the
Pilot.
Activities
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA500-F-01-272
Apr 01
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• Conducting Phase I environmental site
assessments at five properties, three of which
will proceed to Phase II environmental site
assessments;
• Conducting a Phase III environmental site
assessment at the 26 Willow Street property, if
necessary; and
• Informing the community of the brownfields
work and soliciting input from residents and
other stakeholders.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet
been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this
fact sheet are subject to change.
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 Q ., . ,A/__t,.
E-ironmental andEmXency EPA 50°-F-°1 ^
Protection Agency ResDonse(51oVn Apr01
Washington, DC 20450 Kesponse (bl Ob I)
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