State and Tribal Response	eERI\

¦	United States

Program H ighIights	~4n,aip°ec n

EPA Funding Provided to States and Tribes to Address Contaminated Land in their Communities

REGION I

MASSACHUSETTS—A once thriving corner market in the
Dorchester neighborhood of Boston shut down in the early
2000s. After sitting vacant for several decades, the community
redevelopment process began in 2019 and included a
partnership between the neighbors and the Boston Food
Forest Coalition (BFFC), a non-profit that has been active in
both the redevelopment and management of new parks and
community garden spaces in the city. In 2020, the Massachusetts
Department of Environmental Protection used Section 128(a)
Response Program funding to conduct an assessment on the
property. The assessment revealed no contamination of concern,
and the property was made ready for redevelopment. In 2022,
the renovation and expansion of this parcel created the beautiful
new Hero Hope Garden which includes a community food forest
with fruit trees, plants and raised bed gardens; pathways that
curve around the parcel with sitting spaces; a greenhouse for
community and educational use; and community meeting and
gathering space.

The Hero Hope Garden in Dorchester

REGION 2

NEW JERSEY— The 85-acre former Harrison Avenue Landfill,
located in Camden's Cramer Hill neighborhood, operated
as a municipal landfill for nearly two decades before it was
abandoned in the early 1970s. For several years in the early
2000s, the Camden Redevelopment Agency was awarded state
and federal funding for remediation and landfill closure costs.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection used
Section 128(a) Response Program funding to provide oversight

of the remediation of 62 acres of the site. The project was also
funded by the State of New Jersey and focused on protecting
the shoreline, closing the landfill, restoring natural resources,
and constructing the new park. Part of the park's makeover
included stabilizing more than 3,000 feet of shoreline along the
river, expanding the existing freshwater wetlands and preserving
wooded areas that will serve as forage habitats for a variety
of wildlife. The Cramer Hill Waterfront Park opened in 2021
and provides many environmental health benefits, restores
water access, provides recreational opportunities, and creates
opportunities for community engagement for Camden residents.
Cramer Hill features an array of amenities such as such a
fishing plaza, hiking and biking trails, a kayak launch, a picnic
area, a playground, a sensory garden and shoreline observation
areas with views of downtown Camden, the Delaware River, the
Benjamin Franklin Bridge, and the Philadelphia skyline.

Camden's Cramer Hill Waterfront Park.

REGION 3

PENNSYLVANIA—A three-acre site that formerly was home
to Miller's Trailer Park for over 50 years in Bristol Township
was abandoned in the mid-2000s. The township purchased the
property and demolished and removed the trailer homes and
prepared it for redevelopment. In 2014, the township made plans
to sell the property to a developer to build nearly 40 townhomes
on the site; however, that deal never happened and there were
suggestions of potential contamination. In 2018, the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection used Section 128(a)
Response Program funding to conduct a site assessment on
the property. The site assessment revealed no contamination,
and the property was made ready for redevelopment. In 2022,

CERCLA Section 128(a) State and Tribal Response Program Funding

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the Bristol Township was awarded a Pennsylvania Department
of Community and Economic Development grant that will help
fund creation of the new Cedar Avenue Park on the property
The passive recreational park is currently being developed and
includes attractive landscaping and shady trees, a rain garden
and stormwater management, a paved walking and biking
trail, and much needed open green space for the surrounding
neighborhood and community.

REGION 4

TENNESSEE—Two brownfield parcels of land totaling 3.58
acres just outside of downtown Nashville are being redeveloped
as a complex known as The Silos. One of the parcels was
historically used as a grain storage facility and feed mill from
the early 1900s. The adjacent second parcel was recently home
to an ethanol transfer facility. This project, which is in the third
phase of redevelopment of this area centers around the historic
grain silos. In 2016, the site joined the Tennessee Department
of Environment and Conservation's Brownfields Voluntary
Cleanup. During site investigation, elevated levels of metals,
arsenic, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), naphthalene
and benzene were found. To address these contaminants,
a Soil Management Plan was put into place prior to removal
of contaminated soil. In 2020, the Tennessee Department of
Environment and Conservation used Section 128(a) Response
Program Funding to provide oversight of the installation of
a vapor mitigation system. As a result, the site has been
investigated and remediated for commercial redevelopment,
specifically for retail and restaurant space. The site will be an
expansion of the Stocking 51 mixed-use development, which
is located to the west of the property and houses multiple local
businesses, restaurants, a construction company, and coffee
shop. The old grain silos will be saved and re-purposed to
highlight the site's industrial past. The multi-story, three building,
new construction will wrap around the silos with a ground level
plaza area, providing connectivity to the neighborhood.

REGION 5

ILLINOIS— The City of Rockford used Section 128(a) Response
Program resources in order to facilitate the redevelopment of
a large, abandoned factory along the Rock River in downtown
Rockford into a new sports facility. Rockford utilized almost $2
million of U.S. EPA Brownfields Grants (Assessment, Cleanup
and Revolving Loan Fund, and Section 128(a) Response
Program funding) to fund environmental studies, planning, and
remediation for the adaptive reuse of over 100,000 square feet
of buildings, a 5-acre site, and 1,000 feet of riverfront for the

new redevelopment. Site work included petroleum remediation,
asbestos removal, and reestablishing the engineered barrier after
raising the floor 12 inches to address 100-year flood plain issues
to start the transformation of this defunct industrial property into
the new indoor UW Health Sports Factory, complete with a new
riverside boardwalk. In addition, EPA funds leveraged Illinois
Rivers Edge Redevelopment Zone funds, Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) Disaster funds, and local funds
for the riverfront restoration. The new riverfront boardwalk now
connects the UW Health Sports Factory to a new biking and
walking path converted from an abandoned Illinois Railway
bridge. While the immediate benefit of the pedestrian bridge
will be indoor sports tourism, the trail will strengthen the city's
connection to the Grand Illinois Trail, a 500-plus-mile loop of
northern Illinois between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River
that runs through downtown Rockford.

UW Health Sports Factory in Rockford.

TEXAS—Constructed in 1966, a building in North Austin
served as a mixed residential and commercial area for many
decades. In the mid-2000s, the property fell into disrepair and
remained vacant for several years. In 2019, Project Transitions
purchased property to provide affordable housing in North
Austin neighborhood. Project Transitions is a nonprofit dedicated
to serving people with HIV and AIDS by providing supportive
living, housing, recuperative care and hospice in compassionate
and caring environments. In 2021, the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality used Section 128(a) Response Program
funding to provide oversight of the assessment of the property
before the original building was demolished and removed from the
property. The new Project Transitions facility has 61 affordable,
supportive living apartment homes with community space, a food
pantry, a health clinic, and a community garden.

CERCLA Section 128(a) State and Tribal Response Program Funding

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REGION 7

REGION 9

MISSOURI—Beginning in 2012, Kansas City assisted the Mattie
Rhodes Center (MRC), a local community arts and educational
non-profit organization, in efforts to consolidate its facilities and
develop a new permanent home in the Westside Neighborhood
for a community center and studio exhibit space. As a part of
a later facility expansion, MRC purchased several commercial
vacant properties adjacent to its center. In 2020, the Missouri
Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) used Section 128(a)
Response Program funding to provide oversite of the assessment
and cleanup of the properties. The environmental assessment soil
sample results indicated soil samples contained arsenic, lead,
and cadmium concentrations exceeding Missouri Risk-Based
Corrective Action (MRBCA) Risk-Based Target Levels (RBTLs),
Throughout the cleanup process, MRC and MDNR remained
dedicated to achieving cleanup standards that went beyond
acceptable non-residential use levels to meet residential cleanup
levels that are safe for children who will visit center. Expansion
construction on the cultural arts center began in Summer 2021
and was completed in March 2022. The new center greatly
expands MRC's mission to educate and engage local youth in the
arts and exhibit its nationally significant collection of folk art.

Mattie Rhodes Community and Arts Center.

REGION 8

CROW CREEK SIOUX TRIBE—A property owned by Crow Creek
Sioux Tribe was historically used as office buildings and housing.
In 2021, the Tribe used Section 128(a) Response Program
funding to conduct an initial assessment on the property. Asbestos
was found throughout the building, in the ceiling panels, drywall
and tiles, and vermiculite insulation in the attic. In addition,
samples also identified meth contamination in several rooms.
The Tribe then used additional Section 128(a) funding to conduct
asbestos removal in the building and in the soil before the building
was demolished. The Tribe is in the process of constructing a new
affordable housing apartment building on the site.

ARIZONA—Within the heart of Tempe, a former industrial site
adjacent to a lake sat vacant for nearly a decade. Due to the
site's location and its potential to create thousands of jobs,
the City of Tempe wanted to create a biotechnology campus to
incubate potential startups, provide a space for large corporate
relocations, and maintain the previously established synergy with
Arizona State University (ASU). In 2021, the Arizona Department
of Environmental Quality used Section 128(a) Response Program
funding to oversee the assessment and cleanup of the property.
The cleanup included the excavation and removal of volatile
organic compounds (VOCs) contaminated soil. The 15-acre
property is now being redeveloped into a district that will support
the city's initiatives to build a more urbanized and sustainable
community, while creating more opportunities for ASU and within
the biotech industry.

REGION 10

OREGON—The Wagstaff Battery Company operated in North
Portland's Eliot neighborhood for many decades before going out
of business in the late 1990s. The one-story building was later
repurposed as a job training center in the early 2000s before
that city-run program changed locations. After sitting vacant
for several years, the Oregon Department of Environmental
Quality used Section 128(a) Response Program funding to
work with the city and oversee the assessment and cleanup of
the manufacturing past. In 2021, the property was redeveloped
into a 61-unit, certified LEED-Gold for sustainability, affordable
housing building. The property was developed in partnership with
the Portland Housing Bureau, Home Forward, and Multnomah
County. The investment in the community helped to create a
healthy neighborhood while providing deeply affordable housing
in a historically underserved neighborhood.

Affordable Housing Apartments in Portland.

^EPA

united states	CERCLA Section 128(a) State and Tribal Response Program Funding	April/May/June 2023	EPA S60-F-23-348

Environmental Protection
Agency


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