Brownfields
Success Story
Festival Pier (State Pier)
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Rhode Island is known as the "Ocean State", benefits from more than 400
miles of shoreline, but in Pawtucket, and throughout northern Rhode
Island, there are few opportunities for salt water fishing and boating, as
the Pawtucket River was largely inaccessible to the community. To create
more opportunities and provide public access and recreational amenities,
the City redeveloped the former State Pier. The 5-acre riverfront site has
been redeveloped into "Festival Pier", a public event and outdoor
riverfront recreation park. Festival Pier is now a key asset for Pawtucket,
providing fishing, boating, and other recreational opportunities for
residents.
Priming the Property for Redevelopment
Prior to redevelopment, the site was covered with broken asphalt and
patches of scrub vegetation. Despite its condition, State Pier was heavily
used by both fishermen and the City for festivals which led the City to
rename the site as Festival Pier. For past years, the Pier has hosted the
Chinese American Festival and the Taiwan Day Festival, which attract
over 6,000 visitors from the New England region. The pinnacle of the
Chinese American Festival is the Dragon Boat Race, when teams from all
over the East Coast compete in the boat races.
The redevelopment of Festival Pier came because of years of visioning
and planning. Beginning in 1994, Mayor Robert Metivier established the
Pawtucket Riverfront Commission with the directive to review the entire
riverfront and make recommendations for its revitalization. In January
1997, the Commission undertook a public participation outreach effort to
involve citizens in the discussion of the existing riverfront and the
development of a plan for its reuse. This intensive public process resulted
in the 1997 Pawtucket Riverfront Plan, which recommended the use of
the Pier for riverfront recreation and open space. As a result of this
recommendation, in 2000 the Pawtucket Redevelopment Agency
donated the land to the City of Pawtucket for this public use. The City
then searched for funding sources to clean up and redevelop this site into
a safe and healthy public space for all residents to enjoy.
&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Figure 1: Waterfront
Credits: EPA
EPA Grant Recipient:
City of Pawtucket
Grant Types:
Assessment, Cleanup
Former Uses:
State Pier
Current Use:
Public Event and Outdoor
Riverfront Recreation Park

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Figure 3: View Overlooking the Water
Credits: EPA
Starting in 2005, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental
Management (RIDEM) dedicated over $92,000 of its EPA Brownfields
funding to conduct the necessary assessment and cleanup planning
activities at the site. In 2009, the City of Pawtucket received a $200,000
cleanup grant from EPA, as well as additional cleanup funding from
RIDEM, to clean up the Pier. With funding from the John H. Chaffee
Blackstone Valley National Heritage Corridor Commission, the City of
Pawtucket was able to prepare a Master Plan for the site. This project
leveraged over $2 million.
Today
The community engagement process supported by the EPA cleanup
funding helped further the utility of the site design. For instance, Festival
Pier is able to accommodate handicapped fishermen. The City
coordinated with an affiliation of local anglers who utilize the site and
participate in its maintenance, including a number of elderly and disabled
individuals. Because of their request, the City agreed to add more parking
to the site plan in proximity to the fishing areas.
Additionally, remedial action for this project included the use of green
remediation, in the form of phytoremediation. With fifty-two quaking
aspens planted in different areas of the site, phytoremediation uses
these special plants to clean contaminant compounds that are in the soil
and groundwater. Tiny microscopic organisms called microbes live in the
soil and breakdown the contaminants. Tree roots accelerate the
microbes' action by getting more oxygen into the soil and by supplying
nutrients to the microbes through their roots (see image below). The
trees and other landscaping also provide shade and create a more park-
like setting. The cleanup has been completed, and with improvements to
the parking area and the reconstructed boat ramp, the park is now open
for the community.
"Festival Pier is a success
for Pawtucket. The Pier is
one of only two places
within the City where
residents can access the
river. Pawtucket, working
with RIDEM and the EPA,
cleaned up the site and
transformed it into a
beautiful community
resource, used by
fishermen, boaters and for
festivals".
Susan Mara,
City of Pawtucket
For more information:
Visit the EPA Brownfields website at
www.epa.gov/brownfields or contact
Jessica Dominguez, 617-918-1627,
Dominguez.iessica(5)epa.go
HOW TREES ARE CLEANING UP FESTIVAL PIER - PHYTO REMEDIATION
Figure 4: Image ofPhyto Remediation
Credits: City of Pawtucket
EPA 560-A-19-005

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