Brownfields 2010 Cleanup Grant  Fact Sheet
               Peabody, MA
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. In 2002,
the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields
Revitalization Act was passed to help states and
communities around the country cleanup and revitalize
brownfields sites. Under this law, EPA provides financial
assistance to eligible applicants through four competitive
grant programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund
grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants.
Additionally, funding support is provided to state and
tribal response programs through a separate mechanism.

Community Description

The City of Peabody was selected to receive a
brownfields cleanup grant. Peabody (population 51,734)
is located in northeastern Massachusetts. For nearly a
century, the city was one of the country's primary
leather-producing centers. By 1915, Peabody was known
as the "Leather Capital of the World," home to about 100
tanneries and related businesses. With the decline and
departure of industry, downtown Peabody was left with
large, vacant parcels of underused, potentially
contaminated lands. The vacancy rate in the  downtown
area is 33 percent. Since 1996, there have been five major
floods in downtown Peabody that contributed to the
depression of the downtown commercial market and the
decline of the major transportation artery in Peabody and
neighboring communities. The target site is adjacent to the
North River. Addressing contamination at the site is a key
component of the proposed Riverwalk and Flood
Mitigation project. Once the site is cleaned up, the city
plans to create a public park that will connect to the
Riverwalk, fostering pedestrian access to the river and
downtown area.
                     Cleanup Grant

                     $200,000 for hazardous substances

                     EPA has selected the City of Peabody for a
                     brownfields cleanup grant. Hazardous substances
                     grant funds will be used to clean up the 45 Walnut
                     Street Redevelopment Project site. The 1.3-acre
                     site operated as a tannery from approximately
                     1887 until 1968.  It is contaminated with metals,
                     including arsenic and chromium.
                     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: City of Peabody,MA
                     (978) 538-5780

                     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-10-017
      April 2010

-------