Brownfields 2010 Assessment Grant  Fact Sheet
    ^          Somerville, 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 Somerville was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant.  Somerville (population
77,478) is located just north of Boston. For most of its
160-year history, Somerville was home to a range of
industrial operations, including leadworks, glass factories,
and chemical storage facilities. Although most of these
industries have disappeared from the city, many current
Somerville residents live on or near these former
industrial sites. There are 376 brownfield sites in the city,
three-quarters of which are in the target neighborhoods of
East Somerville and Union Square. They severely impact
property values, housing sales, and rents. Somerville is
facing serious challenges during the current economic
downturn. State aid has been significantly cut. The only
remaining source from which the city can increase its tax
base is among its commercial properties, many of which
are brownfields. Brownfield assessments will help the city
maintain the existing momentum from its recent rezoning
efforts, and are expected to help pave the way for
area-wide redevelopment in the target neighborhoods.
                     Assessment Grant

                     $200,000 for hazardous substances

                     EPA has selected the City of Somerville for a
                     brownfields assessment grant. Community-wide
                     hazardous substances grant funds will be used to
                     conduct Phase I and Phase II environmental site
                     assessments in the East Somerville and Union
                     Square areas. Grant funds also will be used to
                     update the city's database 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: City of Somerville,MA
                     (617) 625-6600 ext 2561

                     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-10-019
      April 2010

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