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 ------- |