Brownfields 2009 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet
Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission
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 Central Massachusetts Regional Planning
Commission (CMRPC) was selected to receive two
brownfields assessment grants. Located about 30 miles
west of Boston, the CMRPC serves 40 communities
(combined population 482,436) in a 960-square-mile
region of central Massachusetts. By the early 1900s,
industrial sites were located along all the rivers of
southern Worcester County. At one point, at least 1,100
mills and factories dotted the landscape. Years of
discharging dyes, metals, varnish, and solvents have
scarred the region. The CMRPC region contains nearly
2,500 hazardous substances and petroleum release sites,
900 of which are potential brownfields. All known
brownfield sites are located less than five miles from
major rivers. Between 2001 and 2006, the target area
experienced a 16 percent decrease in manufacturing
jobs. Brownfield assessments will identify properties
that pose threats to human health and the environment.
Assessments also are expected to be the first step in
reclaiming the region's former industrial core and
transforming it into mixed-use developments.
Assessment Grants
$200,000 for hazardous substances
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the Central Massachusetts
Regional Planning Commission for two brownfields
assessment grants. Community-wide hazardous
substances grant funds will be used to conduct 10
Phase I and 3 Phase II environmental site
assessments, focusing on sites located in southern
Worcester County. Grant funds also will be used to
conduct cleanup planning and support community
outreach activities. Petroleum funds will be used to
perform the same tasks at sites with potential
petroleum contamination.
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: Central Massachusetts Regional
Planning Commission
(508)459-3316
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)
EPA 560-F-09-071
May 09
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