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Brownfields 2009 Assessment Grant
Fact Sheet
Greater Portland Council of Governments,
Cumberland County, ME
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 Greater Portland Council of Governments (GPCOG)
was selected to receive two brownfields assessment
grants. The Council represents 25 communities in
Cumberland County (population 265,000). The GPCOG is
targeting Portland Harbor, Downtown Bridgton, Gray
Village, and Steep Falls Village in the Town of Standish
(combined population 12,319) for assessments. The state
has identified 250 brownfield sites in the GPCOG region.
More than 20 of the sites are in the target areas. These
sites are remnants of the area's industrial history and
include a tannery, junkyard, rail line, and mills.
Brownfields are believed to have impacted the health of
area residents. Target area residents are more likely to be
minorities, be unemployed, and earn 20 percent less than
other county residents. More than 13 percent of target
area residents live in poverty. Brownfield assessments are
expected to facilitate site cleanup and help leverage
funding for redevelopment.
Assessment Grants
$200,000 for hazardous substances
(Recovery Act Funding)
$200,000 for petroleum (Recovery Act
Funding)
EPA has selected the Greater Portland Council of
Governments for two brownfields assessment
grants. Community-wide hazardous substances
grant funds will be used to perform five Phase I
and four to five Phase II hazardous substances
assessments. Petroleum grant funds will be used to
conduct six Phase I and four to six Phase II
environmental site assessments. Grant funds also
will be used to develop a brownfields inventory,
conduct cleanup planning, and support community
outreach activities.
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: Greater Portland Council of
Governments,ME
(207) 774-9891
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)
EPA560-F-09-161
May 2009
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