A)
Brownfields 2009 Assessment Grant
Fact Sheet
Berkshire Regional Planning Commission,
Berkshire County, MA
      RECOUERY.GOV
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. On
February  17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed
into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The Recovery Act is an unprecedented effort to
jumpstart our economy, and create or save millions of
jobs. This law provided stimulus funds to the
Brownfields Program to award grants to evaluate and
clean up former industrial and commercial sites. Under
this law, EPA will provide financial assistance to
eligible applicants through four competitive grant
programs: assessment grants,  revolving loan fund
grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants.

Community Description

The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission was
selected to receive a brownfields assessment coalition
grant. Coalition partners are the Towns of Adams and
Dalton, and the Cities of North Adams and Pittsfield.
The coalition serves Berkshire County (population
134,953), the largest and westernmost county in
Massachusetts. Much of the county was built along the
Hoosic and Housatonic  Rivers. In the 18th century, the
Housatonic River powered saw mills, dye works, and
weaving and spinning factories. The remnants of many
of these mills remain. Thirty years ago, manufacturing
jobs supplied more than 40 percent of the county's
employment base. By the early 1990s, more than half
of manufacturing jobs in the region were eliminated. In
the last five years, over  18 manufacturing companies
closed their doors, contributing to an additional 2,700
lost jobs.  There are more than 1,300 contaminated sites
in the county. Brownfield assessments will help
determine the extent of contamination and are expected
to facilitate site cleanup.
                                     Assessment Grant

                                     $447,500 for hazardous substances
                                     (Recovery Act Funding)
                                     $447,500 for petroleum (Recovery Act
                                     Funding)

                                     EPA has selected the Berkshire Regional Planning
                                     Commission for a brownfields assessment coalition
                                     grant. Community-wide hazardous substances grant
                                     funds will be used to conduct 10 Phase I and 7 Phase
                                     II environmental site assessments. Grant funds also
                                     will be used to expand the inventory of potential
                                     brownfield sites, prioritize targeted sites, and
                                     conduct a public education program. Petroleum
                                     grant 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: Berkshire Regional Planning
                                     Commission,MA
                                     (413)442-1521

                                     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-09-076
        May 09

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