/ O \ Brownfields 1998 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet
\ ±$2. J Chelsea, 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 Chelsea for a Brownfields
Pilot. Chelsea is a waterfront suburb of Boston.
Approximately one-third of the city's 2.2 square miles is
commercial or industrial land that once housed heavy
industries or currently serves as industrial storage. Many
of these sites in the city are vacant or underused
properties preventing safe public access to the city's
waterfront and border the city's residential
neighborhoods. Nearly one-quarter of the city's 28,710
residents live below the poverty line, per capita and
household incomes are two-thirds of the state average,
and unemployment is 2% higher than the state average.
In addition, almost half of the city's residents are
minorities.
The Pilot will focus on the 43-acre Everett Avenue
Urban Renewal District. The district comprises the
highest concentration of contiguous, underused land in
the city and is located near the regional highway system,
downtown Boston, Logan Airport, and other recently
redeveloped land. The area is characterized by unknown
contamination and a fear of liability, which has hindered
cleanup and redevelopment.
Pilot Snapshot
Date of Announcement: 05/01/1998
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets two demonstration sites
within the Everett Avenue Urban Renewal District.
The District is comprised of 43 acres of
underdeveloped industrial and commercial land.
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 Chelsea,MA
(650)853-3100
Objectives
The city's objective is to unlock the economic potential
of the Everett Avenue Urban Renewal District's
brownfields by conducting environmental assessments,
and educating and involving local residents. The Pilot
will assess and plan for the cleanup of an 8-acre portion
of the 43-acre targeted area that the city will acquire
through negotiation or eminent domain in early 1998.
The Pilot also will conduct initial site investigations in
the publicly-owned areas of the remaining 35 acres of
the district, to gather information to support efforts to
persuade private property owners that cleanup and
redevelopment is a viable option.
Activities
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Reviewing the results of a previously conducted
preliminary investigation of the Everett Avenue
Urban Renewal District, in order to guide Pilot
United States	c
Environmental	anri Fmpflpn™	EPA 500-F-98-135
nil- a	ancl Emergency	..
Protection Agency	Response (5105T)	MaV98
Washington, DC 20450	^ v '

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sampling activities;
•	Conducting detailed sampling in the eight-acre
portion of the target area to characterize the
extent and degree of contamination and the risks
to human health and the environment;
•	Preparing cleanup plans for the eight-acre parcel
to facilitate redevelopment;
•	Conducting limited sampling of publicly-owned
land in the remaining 3 5-acre target area; and
•	Performing community outreach, including
supporting public meetings, and communicating
the results of environmental testing in the district.
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
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
Solid Waste
EPA 500-F-98-135
May 98

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