/ 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 United States c Environmental anri Fmpflpn™ EPA 500-F-98-132 nil- a ancl Emergency .. Protection Agency Response (5105T) MaV98 Washington, DC 20450 ^ v ' ------- 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 ------- |