w5 Brownfields 1998 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet City of Springfield, 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 City of Springfield for a Brownfields Pilot. Springfield, with a population of 156,983, saw its labor force decline by almost one-third in the 1980s. The city has a federally- designated Enterprise Community (EC) and a state Economic Target Area (ETA). The poverty rate in the EC is 40%, twice the rate in Springfield and four times the state rate. The city has a limited amount of vacant industrial space, which tends to be older, environmentally contaminated, and incompatible with modern industrial processes. These conditions have an adverse impact on adjacent residential communities. Springfield established its own Brownfields Redevelopment Program in 1995 as a core element of its overall economic strategy. Since then, the Springfield Brownfields Program has had success in carrying out reuse strategies in some parts of the city. Still, the city estimates that almost 60% of its vacant parcels are brownfields and/or are subject to other environmental constraints. With the EPA Pilot, Springfield will address two remaining priority brownfields projects. One project, the Carew-Bond-Patton area, is located in the EC and has been identified by the city and a local citizens council as a high priority. Carew-Bond-Patton is a two-block area covering seven acres in downtown Springfield. The area wqc Virwnf* trv q r»rmc+nir»+irm cmH r*=*r*cnr +\/- cm Pilot Snapshot Date of Announcement: 05/06/1998 Amount: $200,000 Profile: The Pilot targets two sites, totaling approximately 60 acres; one site is in the center of the Enterprise Community, the other in the heart of the industrial area of the city. 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: City of Springfield, Massachusetts (413)747-5190 Objectives EPA funds for this Pilot will be used for a Phase I assessment of the Carew-Bond-Patton site and a Phase II assessment and an environmental impact report for the Cottage Street site. The city anticipates that these assessments will help mitigate fear of perceived contamination at these areas, providing comfort to nearby residents and prospective purchasers. Further, the city has committed to monitoring industrial development at these sites over a 10-year period. The Pilot partnership will help the city obtain its overall objective of sustainable environmental enhancement by maximizing its resources through assessment, planning, cleanup, and redevelopment of brownfields. Activities Activities planned as part of this Pilot include: • Conducting a Phase I environmental site assessment at the Carew-Bond-Patton project United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20450 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA 500-F-98-134 May 98 ------- vnuo iivmv tvy m. UV11VJ vviwu wvuvii vuxv* iv^un xuvmi,;, wii electrical substation, and a school that has stood vacant for more than ten years. The city owns the school and plans to acquire the other major brownfields properties in the area. The other project, the former Cottage Street landfill, poses a threat to local water resources. properties; • Completing a Phase II environmental site assessment at the Cottage Street landfill site; • Issuing an environmental impact report for the Cottage Street landfill project; and • Planning for cleanup and redevelopment at both targeted sites, including property transfer and financing options. 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 500-F-98-134 r-. j. i- a ancl Emergency .. Protection Agency Response (5105T) MaV98 Washington, DC 20450 ^ v ' ------- w5 Brownfields 1998 Supplemental Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet City of Springfield, 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 awarded the City of Springfield supplemental assistance for its Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot and additional funding for assessments at brownfields properties to be used for greenspace purposes. Springfield, with a population of 156,983, saw its labor force decline by almost one-third in the 1980s. The city has a federally designated Enterprise Community (EC) and a commonwealth Economic Target Area (ETA). The poverty rate in the EC is 40 percent, twice the rate in Springfield and four times the commonwealth's rate. The city has a limited amount of vacant industrial space, which tends to be older, environmentally contaminated, and incompatible with modern industrial processes. These conditions have an adverse impact on adjacent residential communities. Springfield established its own Brownfields Redevelopment Program in 1995 as a core element of its overall economic strategy. Since the initial EPA Pilot grant in 1998, the inventory of brownfields that are ready for assessment has grown to 11 properties that are located in four major planning areas of the city-Carew-Bond-Patton, Taylor Worthington, Brightwood, and Indian Orchard (the first three are located in the EC). The majority of these properties are adjacent to one another, allowing the city to assemble a Pilot Snapshot Date of Announcement: 03/01/2000 Amount: $150,000 $50,000 for Greenspace Profile: The Pilot will target more than a dozen brownfields, most of which are located in the city's federally designated Enterprise Community, including a plan for open space creation at the Rebecca M. Johnson School site. / City of Springfield, MA 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: City of Springfield, Massachusetts (413)787-6020 Objectives Springfield's objective is to promote sustainable economic development, address environmental issues in densely populated areas, and give its residents a healthy place to live and work. The Pilot will use the supplemental assistance to continue work initiated under the original Pilot and to begin work on new target areas, working to acquire those properties still under private ownership. Using the targeted properties, the city will place an emphasis on expanding the capacity of the community to participate in and understand the process of brownfields assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment. In conjunction with the city's Open Space Plan, the Pilot will use the greenspace funding to conduct assessments that will facilitate creation of open space at four United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20450 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA 500-F-00-049 Apr 00 ------- large site for redevelopment. In addition, the Pilot will use its greenspace funding to target the Rebecca M. Johnson School area located in the Mason Square Urban Renewal District within the EC. The Johnson school project area is already the product of redevelopment successes. Formerly a brownfield, new construction has converted the blighted area into a community service center with a new school, health clinic, day care center, and fire station. Creation of much needed open space in the neighborhood will further enhance these revitalization efforts. properties within the Johnson School site. Potential reuse options to be determined through public participation and school/community needs include a playground, rail/trail way, and passive open space. To accomplish these objectives, the Pilot plans to • Conduct Phase I environmental assessments at 10 properties located within the four major planning areas; • Conduct Phase II environmental assessments, as needed, at approximately five properties 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 500-F-00-049 _ . . and Emergency . __ Protection Agency Response (5105*0 Apr°° Washington, DC 20450 ^ v ' ------- |