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 ------- • 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) ------- |