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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