w5 Brownfields 2009 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet Rockingham Planning Commission, Southeast New 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 February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Recovery Act is an unprecedented effort to jumpstart our economy, and create or save millions of jobs. This law provided stimulus funds to the Brownfields Program to award grants to evaluate and clean up former industrial and commercial sites. Under this law, EPA will provide financial assistance to eligible applicants through four competitive grant programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. Community Description The Rockingham Planning Commission (RPC) was selected to receive two brownfields assessment grants. The RPC serves 27 municipalities in southeastern New Hampshire (population 190,372) and will target the communities of Epping, Exeter, Plaistow, Seabrook, and Hampton (combined population 50,152). The targeted region has a proud industrial history dating back to the 1800s. Clothing and textile mills, timber processing plants, and machine shops formed the hearts of the target communities. The decline in industry has left behind aging structures and chemical contamination. An inventory of sites in the RPC region has listed more than 200 brownfields totaling almost 900 acres of underused properties. An estimated 345 of these acres are in the target communities, representing lost jobs and financial hardship. Brownfield assessments will clarify environmental concerns and are expected to provide opportunities for redevelopment. Assessment Grants $200,000 for hazardous substances (Recovery Act Funding) $200,000 for petroleum (Recovery Act Funding) EPA has selected the Rockingham Planning Commission for two brownfields assessment grants. Community-wide hazardous substances grant funds will be used to conduct up to five Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments in Rockingham County. Petroleum grant funds will be used to conduct up to seven Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to inventory and prioritize brownfield sites, conduct cleanup planning, and support community outreach activities. 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/region 1 /brownfields) Grant Recipient: Rockingham Planning Commission, NH (603)778-0885 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 c Environmental anri Fmpflpn™ EPA 560-F-09-072 nil- a ancl Emergency .. Protection Agency Response (5105T) MaV09 Washington, DC 20450 ^ v ' ------- |