Biden-Harris Administration Announces Over $13.7M for Cleanup and Assessment at Polluted Brownfields Sites in Massachusetts

May 25, 2023/ Region 01 / Asia, Climate, Europe, North America

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

BOSTON (May 25, 2023) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $13,790,000 from President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda to expedite the assessment and cleanup of brownfields sites in Massachusetts while advancing environmental justice.

EPA selected 14 communities in Massachusetts to receive 14 grants totaling $8,740,000 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. In addition, the agency is announcing $5,050,000 in non-competitive supplemental funding to two successful existing Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grant programs to help expedite their continued work at sites in their area by extending the capacity of the program to provide more funding for additional cleanups.

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 16 Massachusetts organizations who will receive these new Brownfields 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.”

“I’m grateful to the EPA and the Biden-Harris Administration for their significant investment in Massachusetts’ infrastructure. This unprecedented level of federal brownfields funding will help our Administration partner with local communities and regional planning agencies to clean up polluted and contaminated properties that are often in environmental justice communities. Together, we can transform these sites for beneficial uses like housing and renewable energy generation,” said Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey.

“For years, big corporations have polluted our water, our land, and our air – all to make a pretty penny,” said U.S. Senator Ed Markey. “Thanks to the EPA, we are one step closer to protecting public health and cleaning up decades worth of pollution in Massachusetts. These major investments in our communities will not only spur economic growth but also create a brighter and more livable future for our Commonwealth.”

“I am thrilled that communities across Massachusetts are receiving nearly $9 million in federal funding to expedite the cleanup of Brownfield sites. Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re making critical investments that will advance environmental justice and create new jobs for our local economy,” said U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren.

“For too long, Massachusetts cities and towns were forced to spend years cobbling together local, state and federal funds to handle environmental remediation projects, causing delays that put people’s lives at-risk,” said U.S. Congressman James P. McGovern. “Now, thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, cities like Worcester will receive almost $5 million to address toxic industrial pollution and make way for new manufacturing facilities and significant economic expansion and job growth.”

“No community should have to be saddled with toxic pollutants that threaten public health. Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the EPA can finally dedicate resources to cleaning up the site of Whyte’s Enterprise Laundry in Lynn. The facility’s demolition decades ago left a 5-foot open pit where the building stood and left behind volatile compounds that threaten public health. I’m relieved the cleanup and decontamination process can finally begin,” said U.S. Congressman Seth Moulton.

“The EPA’s successful Brownfields Program has helped thousands of communities safely and sustainably clean up and reuse contaminated properties. One of the many reasons I voted for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was to expand this program with a $1.5 billion investment that would be felt here in Massachusetts,” said U.S. Congresswoman Lori Trahan. “I’m glad to see that Methuen and Westford are the next communities to benefit firsthand from this terrific program. With this federal funding, families in these communities and across the Third District will be safer and healthier for generations to come!”

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 Massachusetts have been selected to receive EPA Brownfields funding through the Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant Programs.

• The Town of Adams has been selected to receive $500,000 for a Brownfields Assessment Grant. Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct up environmental site assessments, complete a brownfields site inventory, and conduct community engagement activities. The target area for this grant is the Route 8 Corridor. Priority sites include former industrial properties, a former cotton manufacturing company, and a former retail facility.
• The City of Chelsea has been selected to receive $500,000 for a Brownfields Assessment Grant. Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct environmental site assessments, conduct community engagement activities, and prepare cleanup and reuse plans. The target area for this grant is the Chelsea Creek waterfront located along Marginal Street and Eastern Avenue from the Tobin Bridge at Route 1 to Crescent Street. Priority sites include the Former Forbes Lithograph, the New England Trawler, Amoco Petroleum, Boston Hides & Furs, Seagulls Auto Sales, and the Fitzgerald Shipyard.
• Franklin Regional Council of Governments, of Greenfield, Mass., has been selected to receive $500,000 for a Brownfields Assessment Grant. Communitywide 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 the Towns of Monroe, Orange, Turners Falls, and Greenfield. Priority sites include a former mill complex, a vacant lot, a former paper and glassine factory, and an archeological Native American site with a history as a tribal gathering place, village, and burial ground.
• The Town of Franklin has been selected to receive $500,000 for a Brownfields Cleanup Grant. Grant funds will be used to clean up the NuStyle Jewelry Factory at 21 Grove Street, which is currently vacant and contaminated with metals and chlorinated solvents. Grant funds also will be used to develop a Community Involvement Plan, coordinate quarterly community meetings, and conduct other community outreach activities.
• The City of Lynn has been selected to receive $500,000 for a Brownfields Cleanup Grant. Grant funds will be used to clean up Whyte’s Enterprise Laundry at 83 Willow Street in the Buffum South area, which is contaminated with chlorinated volatile organic compounds and other volatile organic compounds.
• The City of Methuen has been selected to receive $500,000 for a Brownfields Assessment Grant. Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct environmental site assessments, develop cleanup plans, and support community outreach activities. The target areas for this grant are Downtown Methuen and the Eastern Industrial Area. Priority sites include a former metal plating facility and a former construction and trucking company site that has a long history of illegal construction debris dumping.
• Montachusett Regional Planning Commission, of Leominster, Mass., has been selected to receive $500,000 for a Brownfields Assessment Grant. Communitywide grant funds will be used to conduct environmental site assessments, inventory sites, develop cleanup plans, and support community outreach activities. The target area for this grant is the Route 2 Corridor in the Towns of Athol, Lancaster, and Templeton. Priority sites include an 18-acre former rod and gun club, an 80-acre former correctional institution, and a 20-acre vacant manufacturing site.
• New Garden Park, Inc., of Worcester, Mass., has been selected to receive $2,000,000 for a Brownfields Cleanup Grant. Grant funds will be used to clean up the 400 Block Property located at 1 New Bond Street in the City of Worcester, currently contaminated with metals, inorganic materials, PCBs, and volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds. Grant funds also will be used to support community outreach and engagement activities.
• Old Colony Planning Council, of Brockton, Mass., 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 area for this grant is the Commuter Rail Corridor in Easton, Hanson, East Bridgewater, and Whitman. Priority sites include two former manufacturing facilities, a 1.2-mile-long stretch along the commuter rail line with a commuter rail station, a former cranberry processing facility, and a former shoe factory.
• Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, of Springfield, Mass., 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 area for this grant is the Town of Ware, the Downtown Historic District, and the Town of South Hadley. Priority sites include former mills and manufacturing facilities.
• The City of Springfield 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 area for this grant is the City of Springfield with a focus on the Metro Center, Indian Orchard, and Six Corners neighborhoods. Priority sites include former industrial properties, a former laundromat, and vacant properties.
• The Town of Ware has been selected to receive $500,000 for a Brownfields Cleanup Grant. Grant funds will be used to clean up the former Ware Manufactured Gas Plant located on Monroe Street, which is contaminated with cyanide, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, petroleum, and heavy metals. Grant funds also will be used to conduct community outreach and engagement activities.
• The Town of Westford has been selected to receive $500,000 for a Brownfields Cleanup Grant. Grant funds will be used to clean up the Westford Anodizing Facility located at 12 North Main Street, currently contaminated with metals and dioxins. Grant funds also will be used to support community outreach activities.
• Westmass Area Development Corporation, of Springfield, Mass., has been selected to receive $740,000 for a Brownfields Cleanup Grant. Grant funds will be used to clean up the 300 Series Warehouse Buildings and Mill Buildings 46 and 58, which are part of the 52-acre Ludlow Mills Complex at 100 State Street in the Town of Ludlow. The buildings are currently contaminated with PCBs, heavy metals, and inorganic contaminants. Grant funds also will be used to conduct community outreach and engagement activities.

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

Non-competitive Supplemental Funding Through the Existing Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grant Program

The Agency is also announcing $5,050,000 in non-competitive supplemental funding to two successful existing Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grant programs that have already achieved success in their work to clean up and redevelop brownfields sites. RLF Grants provide funding for recipients to offer loans and subgrants to carry out cleanup activities at brownfields sites. The funding announced today will help communities continue to address the economic, social, and environmental challenges caused by brownfields sites. The following Massachusetts organizations have been selected to receive non-competitive supplemental funding for their existing RLF programs.

• Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, of Pittsfield, Mass., has been selected to receive $2,350,000 in RLF supplemental funding. The commission has received a total of $5,250,000 from EPA in prior years for this program, and they have successfully made loans or subgrants leading to 12 cleanup projects that are either completed or in progress. Potential projects highlighted for use of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding include Greylock Mill in North Adams and Curtis Fine Paper in Adams. The BIL funding will extend the capacity of the program to provide funding for more cleanups in the most underserved areas in Berkshire County.
• The City of Worcester has been selected to receive $2,700,000 in RLF supplemental funding. The city has received a total of $5,149,273 from EPA in prior years for this program and has successfully made loans or subgrants leading to 13 cleanup projects that are either completed or in progress. Potential projects highlighted for use of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding include New Garden Park’s Greendale Revitalization and Denholm Building on Main Street. The BIL funding will extend the capacity of the program to provide funding for more cleanups in the most underserved areas in the City of Worcester.

Read more about this year’s RLF recipients.

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).

• More on Brownfields Grants.
• More EPA’s Brownfields Program.

Read the full article at: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-announces-over-137m-cleanup-and-assessment-polluted