Q \ Brownfields 2005 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet J South west Region Planning Commission, South west Ne w Hampshire 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 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. Community Description The Southwest Region Planning Commission was selected to receive two brownfields assessment grants. The Southwest Region (population 98,538) is a network of villages and low-density rural housing surrounding several regional centers of commerce and employment. The region borders Massachusetts to the south and Vermont to the west, across the Connecticut River. The region's demographics are diverse. However, more than 61 percent of the jobs are in three of the region's 36 municipalities. Between 2000 and 2004, the region lost almost 1,200 jobs. The formerly industrial town centers, with the greatest potential for contamination, are the region's most densely populated centers. These centers tend to have low-to-moderate income neighborhoods, with a disproportionate number of sensitive populations at a disadvantage in an area where reliable personal transportation is necessary to access employment. Assessment and redevelopment of the region's brownfields sites are key to generating local employment opportunities for area residents, enhancing the local tax base, and preserving the rural farms and forest landscape. Assessment and cleanup of brownfields sites are also important to the water supply of the region, where nine of eleven municipal sources rely solely on groundwater. Assessment Grant $158,000 for hazardous substances $158,000 for petroleum EPA has selected the Southwest Region Planning Commission for two brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to support the already established advisory committee, conduct community outreach activities, inventory and rank sites contaminated by hazardous substances and/or petroleum, and perform up to five Phase I and up to four Phase II site assessments around the Southwest Region's 36 municipalities of New Hampshire. Petroleum funding will be used to conduct the same activities for sites with potential petroleum contamination. 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: Southwest Region Planning Commission, NH Southwest Region Planning Commission (603)357-0557 Southwest Region Planning Commission (603)357-0557 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 United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20450 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA 560-F-05-073 May 2005 ------- fact sheet are subject to change. United States c Environmental anri Fmpflpn™ EPA 560-F-05-073 Protection Agency Response (5105T) May 2005 Washington, DC 20450 Kesponse (si us ) ------- |