s OA Brownfields 1996 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet r-t> ,*> / Lawrence, MA EPA Brownfields Initiative 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 January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields 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. Background EPA selected the City of Lawrence for a Brownfields Pilot. Lawrence was one of the first planned industrial cities in the country in the mid-1800s. Mills, industrial buildings, underground water raceways, and homes were built in close proximity, and now constitute historic preservation areas. However, Lawrence is now the 23rd poorest city in the nation, with a 15 percent unemployment rate. Seven thousand jobs were lost during the 1980s, even in the midst of the Massachusetts economic boom. This decline primarily affects the large minority population in the district. The City is actively participating in an effort to redevelop contaminated properties through the Lawrence Gateway Project. Pilot Snapshot Date of Announcement: 01/25/1996 Amount: $200,000 Profile: The Pilot targets three priority sites in the North Canal Industrial Corridor, a one and a quarter-mile stretch along the Merrimack River containing former textile mills, landfills, and paper manufacturers. 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/brownfields) Grant Recipient: City of Lawrence,MA (508)393-6779 Objectives Through this effort, the City plans to promote economic development within the designated brownfields Lawrence Gateway Project area, while enhancing the quality of life for those who work, visit and live within the area. The City is carefully coordinating the implementation of the Pilot with several overlapping City-wide economic development initiatives. Lawrence is also working to build on existing outreach efforts to encourage involvement with the community's minority groups and other stakeholders. Activities Through this effort, the City plans to promote economic development within the designated brownfields Lawrence Gateway Project area, while enhancing the quality of life for those who work, visit and live within the area. The City is carefully coordinating the implementation of the Pilot with several overlapping United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20450 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA 500-F-97-019 May 97 ------- City-wide economic development initiatives. Lawrence is also working to build on existing outreach efforts to encourage involvement with the community's minority groups and other stakeholders. The Pilot has: • Appointed a Steering Committee which includes the neighborhood association, local businesses, and environmental groups. The Pilot is: • Developing preliminary inventories of industrial and commercial properties within the North Canal Industrial Corridor, and identifying potential beneficial land uses including: integrating inventory data into an existing geographic information system (GIS) database; selecting three priority sites for "site focus investigations" that include environmental evaluations and conceptual redevelopment planning; and preparing supplementary investigation plans to outline additional information needs; • Preparing a user-document that outlines economic incentives and other financing instruments available for brownfields redevelopment projects; and • Planning to review and expand Lawrence's community advisory committees and increase outreach and community education programs. Experience with the Lawrence Pilot has been a catalyst for related activities including the following. • Lawrence has been designated as a Groundworks Trust Community. This partnership between the EPA and the National Park Service is intended to improve the natural, economic and social environment of Lawrence while developing local grassroots conservation organizations with the ability to conserve local rivers, trails and open spaces. • Coordinating redevelopment plans and activities among the City, State agencies, and Federal departments. • Planning to adapt the State of Massachusetts' Clean Site Initiative within the City of Lawrence. 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 United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20450 and Emergency Response (5105T) Solid Waste EPA 500-F-97-019 May 97 ------- described in this fact sheet are subject to change. United States c Environmental anri Fmpflpn™ EPA 500-F-97-019 j. i- a ancl Emergency .. Protection Agency Response (5105T) MaV97 Washington, DC 20450 ^ v ' ------- w5 PR Brownfields 1996 Supplemental Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet City of Lawrence, MA EPA Brownfields Initiative 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 January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields 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. Background EPA has selected the City of Lawrence to receive supplemental assistance for its Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot and additional funding for assessments at Brownfields properties to be used for greenspace purposes. Originally a farming town, Lawrence was transformed into one of the first planned industrial cities in the country in the mid-1800s. Mills, industrial buildings, underground water raceways, and homes, which were built in close proximity to one another, now constitute historic preservation areas. However, Lawrence has the lowest per capita income and highest unemployment rate in Massachusetts. Seven thousand jobs were lost during the 1980s, even in the midst of the Massachusetts economic boom. This decline primarily affects the large minority population in the city. The original Pilot targeted three sites as part of the city's Lawrence Gateway Project (LGP), an overall revitalization strategy for the city's downtown industrial, commercial, and residential centers. The three sites are the Everett Mills warehouse, the Atlantic powerhouse, and the Oxford paper mill. The supplemental grant funds will be used for soil and subsurface assessments at the Oxford site in preparation for construction of a new entrance way bridge to the Gateway. Additional funding will be used for assessments on at least four sites in the Pilot Snapshot Date of Announcement: 04/01/2001 Amount: $150,000 $50,000 for Greenspace Profile: City of Lawrence, MA. The Pilot will target the Oxford paper mill site for environmental assessments and four sites for greenspace reuse. 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/brownfields) Grant Recipient: City of Lawrence,MA (978) 794-5891 Objectives The Lawrence Pilot will use the EPA supplemental assistance grant to fund environmental site assessments at the Oxford paper mill site. Of the three sites originally targeted by the Pilot, the Oxford site is the only one that still needs to be assessed. The historical use of the site has left the area contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and there is the possibility of contamination from polyaromatic hydrocarbons. Once the assessments are completed, the city will be able to proceed with cleanup and redevelopment plans for the site. The Pilot has also been selected to receive funding for greenspace reuse. The Pilot targets four sites in the North Common neighborhood for environmental assessments with the intent of creating greenspace. The greenspace development is being led by grassroots efforts and includes the creation of a playground on a vacant commercial lot, a community garden on a large United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20450 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA 500-F-01-298 Apr 01 ------- North Common neighborhood, a residential area in the Gateway connected to the Oxford site by the Spicket River, targeted for greenspace creation. The targeted sites are those which the community has laid claim to through grassroots efforts to create badly needed open and recreational space on formerly commercial and industrial land. Greenspace reuse activities in the North Common neighborhood are being aided by the city's partnership with the National Park Service to improve the physical environment in brownfields communities. vacant lot, and a greenway along the Spicket River, which includes two targeted sites. Activities Activities planned as part of this Pilot include: • Conduct environmental site assessments at the Oxford paper mill site; • Conduct Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments at the four sites targeted for greenspace reuse; and • Partner with the Reviviendo Planning Group and Groundwork Lawrence, a forum of public and private stakeholders, in planning the greenspace activities in the North Common neighborhood. The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change. 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 c Environmental anri Fmpflpn™ EPA 500-F-01-298 _ . . and Emergency . _. Protection Agency Response (5105*0 Apr°1 Washington, DC 20450 ^ v ' ------- |