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Region 1: EPA New England

Brownfield Cleanups A Boon for the Environment and the Economy; New Legislation Should Mean More Cleanups and Funding for Ocean State

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.

CT | MA | NH | RI

By Robert W. Varney
November 18, 2002

For decades, abandoned mill buildings and properties along the Woonasquatucket River in Providence sat deteriorating, a sad reminder of New England's manufacturing decline and a stark demonstration of the environmental damage progress can cause.

Today, the empty parcels are being cleaned up and readied for neighborhood parks that will eventually be linked to a 4.4-mile linear park and bike trail known as the Woonasquatucket River Greenway that will stretch from downtown Providence to Johnston. Among the lynchpins of the Greenway project are the Riverside Mills and Lincoln Lace and Braid properties, two riverfront eyesores that are well on their way to being restored.

This turnaround is among many success stories being heard around New England as the eight-year-old federal Brownfields Program bears fruit.

Since 1995, EPA New England has provided more than $56 million of Brownfields assistance – for grants, site evaluations, job training and cleanup loan programs – to dozens of communities and agencies around the region. The assistance has led to 630 site assessments, more than 100 cleanups and thousands of new jobs.

In Rhode Island, the assistance has already led to such projects as a new nine-hole urban golf course on the Woonasquatucket River, a new Headquarters/Education complex that Save The Bay will soon be building on Upper Narragansett Bay, and the cleanup of the Gorham manufacturing property in Providence for a new state-of-the-art YMCA facility.

Rhode Island's Brownfields Program has also been active. In the past half-dozen years, the RI Department of Environmental Management has entered into 78 settlement agreements and Covenants Not to Sue, which has resulted in about 820 acres of restored land, 960 new or retained jobs and more than $2 million in assessed property taxes.

EPA has given more than $2 million to Providence and the state of Rhode Island for Brownfields redevelopment, much of it focused on the Woonasquatucket River. Among the most recent grants was $45,000 under the EPA's "Smart Growth: Saving Open Space, Revitalizing Brownfields" Program. DEM will use the money to identify and recommend land use, zoning and other regulatory revisions that will promote redevelopment of Brownfield sites and other vacant parcels along the Woonasquatucket.

Emboldened by the success and huge popularity of the Brownfields Program, President Bush and Congress enacted new Brownfields legislation this year that will double the funds available for Brownfields work – boosting annual funding to roughly $200 million a year – and make more properties eligible for cleanups.

The new law will greatly expand federal assistance for Brownfields revitalization, including grants for assessments, loans, cleanups and job training. It also provides new liability protections for prospective purchasers and greatly enhances state and tribal programs, which continue to play a critical role in restoring and revitalizing Brownfields.

Guidelines that were recently approved as part of the new legislation includes various new precedents, including:

  • broadening the eligibility for funding to include sites with petroleum contamination.
  • providing cleanup grants to eligible entities, including nonprofit organizations that own property they wish to clean up.
  • allowing local governments to use up to 10 percent of the funds for monitoring the health of local populations exposed to hazardous wastes.

In October, nearly 200 representatives from cities, towns, state agencies, tribes, nonprofit groups and consulting firms attended meetings in Massachusetts and New Hampshire to learn about the new legislation and upcoming funding opportunities. Based on feedback at these meetings, we expect to see many exciting projects move forward in the months ahead.

Information on financial assistance that is available can be found at www.epa.gov/ne/brownfields or by calling Lynne Jennings at 617-918-1210. The deadline for applying for assessment, cleanup and cleanup revolving loans grants is Dec. 16.

Robert W. Varney is regional administrator of EPA’s New England Office

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