A)
Brownfields 2009 Assessment Grant
Fact Sheet
Franklin Regional Council of Governments,
Franklin 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 Franklin Regional Council of Governments
(FRCOG) was selected to receive a brownfields
assessment grant. Located in western Massachusetts, the
FRCOG serves 26 municipalities (population 71,602) and
plans to target communities with sensitive populations or
areas of particular environmental concern. Originally,
Franklin County was mainly agricultural. However, in the
19th century, manufacturing became the major economic
base. The decline of manufacturing in the region has
resulted in many brownfield sites in town centers and
along rivers. Of the region's 64 identified brownfield sites,
40 are adjacent to residential areas. Many are in
neighborhoods with poverty rates of 17 percent or greater.
Brownfield assessments are the FRCOG's first step in
achieving its long-term goals of cleaning up brownfield
sites, spurring interest in redevelopment, and reducing
potential threats to human health and the environment.
Assessment Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
(Recovery Act Funding)
EPA has selected the Franklin Regional Council of
Governments for a brownfields assessment grant.
Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to
inventory brownfield sites and conduct 10 Phase I
and 3 to 4 Phase II environmental site assessments.
Grant funds also will be used to 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: Franklin Regional Council of
Governments,MA
(413)774-1194extl05
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-09-041
May 2009
------- |