All News Releases By Date

EPA TO AWARD SUPERFUND REDEVELOPMENT GRANTS

Release Date: 07/13/2000
Contact Information: Alice Kaufman, EPA Community Affairs Office, (617) 918-1064

BOSTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that Merrimack, NH, is in line to receive a federal grant of $66,600 to help the community plan for the productive use of the New Hampshire Plating Co. Superfund site. Merrimack is among eight communities in New England in line to receive a total of $748,000.

The grant to Merrimack will help the town develop a reuse plan for the site that involves the community in recommending uses compatible with the cleanup. An economic boom in Merrimack, with new businesses moving to the area, has prompted local planners to begin to revise its master plan to address this growth.

"Across New England, we are demonstrating that through ingenuity and common sense we can expand the economy while cleaning and preserving our natural resources," said Mindy Lubber, regional administrator for EPA New England. "The redevelopment initiative is an aggressive planning tool that encourages communities to decide on the future use of abandoned and contaminated properties."

"As chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, and former chairman of the Superfund subcommittee, I commend this award as a positive step for economic development in Merrimack,"said Sen. Bob Smith. "The brownfields pilot program will help facilitate the use of underutilized industrial sites across the state and nation, and I look forward to working with the town and community to help foster growth and protect our resources."

"This funding represents a commitment on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency to the redevelopment of Superfund sites such as Merrimack's New Hampshire Plating," said U.S. Rep. John E. Sununu. "Restoring those sites is an essential step toward expanding the local tax base, encouraging new investments and creating new employment opportunities." Quote Merrimack

The New Hampshire Plating Co. (NHPC) was in business for 23 years on a 13-acre parcel of land. The company used four natural, unlined lagoons on the property to dispose of wastes and waste waters from the electroplating operations. In October 1992, EPA added the site to its list of hazardous waste sites needing cleanup.