/ O \ Brownfields 1998 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet
1 J Pioneer Valley, 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 Pioneer Valley Planning
Commission (PVPC) for a Brownfields Pilot. Located in
midwestern Massachusetts, the Pioneer Valley Region
consists of 43 cities and towns in Hampshire and
Hampden counties. Although the region is known for its
industrial heritage, this legacy has left a surplus of
brownfields. The region has a population of
approximately 603,000, and contains 450 vacant and
contaminated industrial sites. Most of these sites are
located in the region's three major urban areas
(Springfield, Holyoke, Chicopee), where 25% of the
residents are minorities and one-third of the low-income
population resides. In addition, because many of the
region's old mill buildings were built near outlying water
sources, brownfields are also found in the area's suburbs
and rural locations.
Pilot Snapshot
Date of Announcement: 05/01/1998
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pioneer Valley Region encompasses 43
cities and towns and 602,000 residents in midwestern
Massachusetts.
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: Pioneer Valley Planning
Commission,MA
(413)781-6045
Objectives
The Pilot plans to work with the PVPC to increase the
urban core vitality and stability by encouraging
assessment, cleanup, and reuse of brownfields; and to
decrease industry's movement from the urban core and
its ongoing development of greenfields by easing
existing barriers to brownfields cleanup and reuse. The
Pilot will create an inventory of brownfields sites to
match properties with developers and establish site
cleanup and reuse criteria by partnering with area
stakeholders.
Activities
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
•	Developing an Internet accessible inventory of
known brownfields sites in a geographic
information system (GIS);
•	Creating a monitoring and reporting system
within the GIS to track the region's brownfields
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cleanup and redevelopment projects on an
ongoing basis;
•	Developing a list of key site characteristics for
different types of properties and establishing
criteria to identify priority brownfields sites; and
•	Providing seed money to help communities,
Community Development Corporations, and
not-for-profit developers conduct site
assessments. This seed money will be matched
with Community Development Block Grant
funds, other municipal funds, partnerships with
other developers, and other sources.
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
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
Solid Waste
EPA 500-F-98-132
May 98

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