A \ Brownfields 2009 Assessment Grant
&Z] Fact Sheet
Maine Department of Environmental Protection
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 Maine Department of Environmental Protection was
selected to receive two brownfields assessment grants.
The economy of Maine (population 1,321,574), the largest
state in New England, was based on natural resource
extraction, including forestry and fishing, and
manufacturing, including tannery and textile mills.
Industrial changes over the years and natural resource
depletion have resulted in a dramatic economic decline in
the state. Between 2001 and 2004, Maine lost more than
25 percent of its manufacturing jobs. Many rural
communities are now designated as Historically
Underutilized Business Zones because of their high
poverty and unemployment rates. Additionally, economic
decline has led to significant population decreases in
many rural communities. Once productive town centers
are now home to abandoned gas stations, junkyards,
manufacturing sites, and other blighted properties.
Brownfield assessments will identify and evaluate
contamination at sites, and are expected to help quantify
cleanup costs and facilitate redevelopment.
Assessment Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
(Recovery Act Funding)
$200,000 for petroleum (Recovery Act
Funding)
EPA has selected the Maine Department of
Environmental Protection for two brownfields
assessment grants. Community-wide hazardous
substances grant funds will be used to conduct six
Phase I and four Phase II environmental site
assessments throughout the state. Petroleum grant
funds will be used to conduct 10 Phase I and 6
Phase II environmental site assessments.
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/bro wnfields)
Grant Recipient: Maine Department of
Environmental Protection
(207)287-7716
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-09-245
May 2009
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