Biden-Harris Administration Announces Nearly $7.2M for Cleanup and Assessment at Polluted Brownfields Sites in New Hampshire

Publilshed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

BOSTON (June 9, 2023) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $7,128,850 from President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda to expedite the assessment and cleanup of brownfields sites in New Hampshire while advancing environmental justice.

EPA selected eight communities in New Hampshire to receive eight grants totaling $7,128,850 in competitive EPA Brownfields funding through the Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant programs. Thanks to the historic boost from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this is the largest ever funding awarded in the history of the EPA’s Brownfields MARC Grant programs.

These investments are part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda to grow the American economy from the bottom up and middle-out – from rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure, to driving over $470 billion in private sector manufacturing and clean energy investments in the United States, to creating a manufacturing and innovation boom powered by good paying jobs that don’t require a four-year degree, to building a clean-energy economy that will combat climate change and make our communities more resilient.

“We’re working across the country to revitalize what were once dangerous and polluted sites in overburdened communities into more sustainable and environmentally just places that serve as community assets. Thanks to President Biden’s historic investments in America, we’re moving further and faster than ever before to clean up contaminated sites, spur economic redevelopment, and deliver relief that so many communities have been waiting for,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “This critical wave of investments is the largest in Brownfields history and will accelerate our work to protect the people and the planet by transforming what was once blight into might.”

“Congratulations to the eight New Hampshire organizations who will receive these new Brownfields grants this year,” said EPA New England Regional Administrator David W. Cash. “Thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration, EPA will be making the single largest investment in Brownfields in history. This funding will revitalize communities across New England, and jump start economic redevelopment and job creation in many of New England’s hardest hit and underserved communities.”

“As a lead negotiator of the bipartisan infrastructure law, I’m thrilled to see these critical funds heading to New Hampshire to invest in the remediation of contaminated sites across our state,” said U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen. “This federal funding is essential to identifying, assessing and cleaning contaminated properties which will in turn create new opportunities for economic growth. This latest allocation of resources from the bipartisan infrastructure law reaffirms how this historic investment will continue to improve the lives of New Hampshire residents for years to come.

“Cleaning and revitalizing contaminated sites will help stimulate economic growth and reduce environmental hazards in communities across New Hampshire,” said U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan. “I was glad to help negotiate and pass into law the bipartisan infrastructure law to get funding like this to our state, and I look forward to seeing the impact of these newest projects.”

“These significant investments heading to New Hampshire will help clean up our environment, preserve our waterways, strengthen local engagement, and improve the safety of our soil and groundwater,” said U.S. Representative Annie Kuster. “I am proud to see these funds coming to our state and I look forward to the positive impact of these projects.”

“New Hampshire’s economy and way of life are rooted in our surroundings, and it’s important we safeguard our natural environment for future generations,” said U.S. Representative Chris Pappas. “This funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law will provide communities in New Hampshire the resources they need to clean up contaminated sites, protect public health and the environment, and spur economic growth. I look forward to seeing the benefits of these cleanups come to fruition, and I will keep working to ensure the needs of our communities in New Hampshire are met.”

Many communities that are under economic stress, particularly those located in areas that have experienced long periods of disinvestment, lack the resources needed to initiate brownfields cleanup and redevelopment projects. As brownfields sites are transformed into community assets, they attract jobs, promote economic revitalization, and transform communities into sustainable and environmentally just places.

Thanks to the historic $1.5 billion boost from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA’s Brownfields Program is helping more communities than ever before begin to address the economic, social, and environmental challenges caused by brownfields and stimulate economic opportunity, and environmental revitalization in historically overburdened communities.

EPA’s Brownfields Program also advances President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative to direct 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments to disadvantaged communities. The Brownfields Program strives to meet this commitment and advance environmental justice and equity considerations into all aspects of its work. Approximately 84 percent of the MARC program applications selected to receive funding proposed to work in areas that include historically underserved communities.

State Funding Breakdown:

Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant Program Selection

The following organizations in New Hampshire have been selected to receive EPA Brownfields funding through the Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant Programs.

  • The City of Claremont has been selected to receive $800,000 for a Brownfields Multipurpose Grant. Grant funds will be used to conduct environmental assessments at sites such as the Joy Manufacturing/Foundry, the former Synergy site, and other sites as needed and cleanup at the former Synergy site. Grant funds also will be used for public meetings, design charrettes, and other community engagement and reuse planning activities. The target area for this project is the Claremont Historic District, which includes the Central Business District, the Lower Village District, and the Monadnock Mills textile complex. The priority sites are part of the city’s redevelopment strategy to provide open space, riverfront access, redeveloped parcels on Main Street and downtown, and electric vehicle charging station points.

  • The City of Franklin has been selected to receive $1,923,850 for a Brownfields Cleanup Grant. Grant funds will be used to clean up the Ferrari Mill Site at 93-119 Memorial Street, which is currently contaminated with hazardous substances, chlorinated volatile organic compounds, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, and heavy metals. Grant funds also will be used to prepare a Community Relations Plan and provide technical updates on the city’s website.

  • Lakes Region Planning Commission, of Meredith, NH, has been selected to receive $475,000 for a Brownfields Assessment Grant. Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct environmental site assessments, prepare cleanup plans, and conduct community engagement activities including public meetings and workshops. The target areas for this grant are the Town of Ashland, the City of Franklin, and the City of Laconia. Priority sites include former mill buildings, a former gasoline service garage, a former state school property, and buildings within a former mill district.

  • Monadnock Economic Development Commission, of Keene, NH, has been selected to receive a $1,000,000 Revolving Loan Fund grant. The grant will be used to capitalize a new revolving loan fund from which the Monadnock Economic Development Corporation will provide loans and subgrants to support cleanup activities. Grant funds also will be used to support community outreach and community engagement activities. RLF activities will focus on five river towns within the lower Ashuelot River Valley, an area in southern New Hampshire that is impacted by many abandoned historic mills, an aging population, a globalizing economy, and climate change. Priority sites include the former McGoldrick Paper Company site in Hinsdale, the former A.C. Lawrence Tannery in Winchester, the former Homestead Woolen Mill in Swanzey, the former Kingsbury Manufacturing site in Keene, and the former WW Cross Company site in Jaffrey.

  • The Town of Newport has been selected to receive $750,000 for a Brownfields Cleanup Grant. Grant funds will be used to clean up the Ambargis Mill site at 8 Greenwood Road, which is currently contaminated with hydrocarbons, heavy metals, PCBs, and inorganic contaminants. Grant funds also will be used to conduct community engagement activities.

  • Strafford Regional Planning Commission, of Rochester, NH, has been selected to receive $500,000 for a Brownfields Assessment Grant. Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct environmental site assessments, prepare cleanup plans, and conduct community engagement activities. The target areas for this grant are Strafford County, Rockingham County, and Carroll County with a focus on the City of Dover’s Central Business District and the Town of Farmington Town Center. Priority sites include a former fire department, a former Eastern States coal storage facility, and the Dover Transportation Center, which houses a rail station.

  • Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission, of Lebanon, NH, has been selected to receive $500,000 for a Brownfields Assessment Grant. Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct environmental site assessments, prepare cleanup and reuse plans, and conduct community outreach activities. The target areas for this grant are the City of Claremont and the Town of Newport. Priority sites include the Sullivan Machinery site, the Topstone Mill, the Dorr Woolen Mill Lagoons, and downtown area commercial buildings on Sunapee Street in Newport.

  • The Town of Winchester has been selected to receive $1,180,000 for a Brownfields Cleanup Grant. Grant funds will be used to clean up the former A.C. Lawrence Tannery located at 15 Bridge Street. The soil and groundwater at the site are currently contaminated with petroleum solvents, chlorinated solvents, chromium, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, metals, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Grant funds also will be used to support community outreach and engagement activities.

You can read more about this year’s MARC selectees.

Brownfields Technical Assistance Provider for New England

EPA is also announcing funding selection for two Brownfields technical assistance opportunities. The Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) selectees provide specialized technical knowledge, research, and training to help stakeholders understand brownfields-related subject matter, and guide them through the brownfields assessment, clean-up, and revitalization process. This assistance is a key part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to advance economic opportunities and address environmental justice issues in underserved communities. This technical assistance is available to all stakeholders and comes at no cost to communities. The two funding opportunities announced today include the following:

  1. EPA selected the University of Connecticut (UConn) to receive $5,000,000 to provide training and technical assistance to communities across the state under the Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) Communities Program. This funding comes entirely from the historic $1.5 billion investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Read more about this year’s TAB selectees.

  2. EPA is also expanding the scope of its technical assistance offerings under the Brownfields and Land Revitalization Program to include three new subject-specific grants totaling $2 million in three areas, including providing technical assistance to nonprofits seeking to reuse brownfields; provide research, outreach, and guidance on minimizing displacement resulting from brownfields redevelopment; and providing outreach and guidance on land banking tactics for brownfields revitalization. Read more on the Brownfields Technical Assistance and Research cooperative agreement recipients.

More information about Brownfields Technical Assistance and Research.

Additional Background:

EPA has selected these organizations to receive funding to address and support the reuse of brownfields sites. EPA anticipates making all the awards announced today once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied.

EPA’s Brownfields Program began in 1995 and has provided nearly $2.37 billion in Brownfields Grants to assess and clean up contaminated properties and return blighted properties to productive reuse. EPA’s investments in addressing brownfields sites have leveraged more than $36 billion in cleanup and redevelopment. Over the years, the relatively small investment of federal funding has leveraged, from both public and private sources, nearly 260,000 jobs. Communities that previously received Brownfields Grants used these resources to fund assessments and cleanups of brownfields, and successfully leverage an average of 10.6 jobs per $100,000 of EPA Brownfields Grant funds spent and $19.78 for every dollar.

The next National Brownfields Training Conference will be held on August 8-11, 2023, in Detroit, Michigan. Offered every two years, this conference is the largest gathering of stakeholders focused on cleaning up and reusing former commercial and industrial properties. EPA co-sponsors this event with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA).

Read the full article at: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-announces-nearly-72m-cleanup-and-assessment-polluted

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