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EPA Awards Brownfields Redevelopment Grants to Three in New Hampshire; Part of 80 Grants Nationwide

Release Date: 05/20/2002
Contact Information: Mark Merchant, EPA Press Office (617) 918-1013

BOSTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today it will spend $2.25 million to help assess, clean and redevelop abandoned, contaminated sites throughout New England, including $500,000 for three projects in New Hampshire.

"Reclaiming America's brownfields properties is an effective way to help revitalize and reinvigorate our nation's blighted neighborhoods while at the same time preventing urban sprawl," said EPA Administrator Christie Whitman.

The brownfields projects funded in New Hampshire – in Clarmont and Nashua, as well as one through the New Hampshire Office of State Planning's Coastal Program – were part of more than $14 million in Brownfields grants to assess the contamination of abandoned properties that were given to 80 communities around the nation today.

"These grants will bring much needed momentum to community brownfields programs in New Hampshire, and all across New England," said Robert W. Varney, regional administrator for EPA's New England office. "Dozens of contaminated sites in the region have already been successfully restored through this program. The money we offer to the communities in our region today ensures even more successes down the road."

Earlier this year, President Bush signed bipartisan legislation that will encourage the cleanup and redevelopment of old industrial properties – cleaning up our environment, creating jobs and protecting small businesses from frivolous lawsuits. In addition, the President's fiscal year 2003 budget request doubled the funds available through the EPA in FY 02 – from $98 million to $200 million – to help states and communities around the country clean up and revitalize brownfields sites.

Under the EPA's Brownfields Assessment Program, communities receive funding to assess contamination at abandoned and vacant sites and to estimate the costs of cleaning up sites for redevelopment. Communities also receive funding to establish revolving loan programs allowing them to provide low interest loans to clean up these sites. Once assessed and cleaned, these sites can be put back into productive use by the community.

"Brownfields reclamation is one of the great environmental success stories of the past decade," Whitman said. "But the story is hardly over. EPA and its partners in every state of the union are ready to write the next chapter in the brownfields story. Given the commitment of this Administration, I can guarantee you that story will have a very happy ending."

These grants bring the total amount that EPA has spend on brownfields projects in New Hampshire to date to nearly $6 million.

"These abandoned properties are a drain on the local economy," said U.S. Rep. Charles Bass, who helped pass legislation to increase funding and provide more flexibility for brownfield clean-ups. "These grants will help determine whether these former industrial sites are contaminated and provide an opportunity to safely clean up the city owned properties and turn them into usable property. The redevelopment of these properties would help restore jobs and improve the economic and social health of this community."

The city of Claremont received $200,000 for a site brownfield assessment. The grant targets four city-owned or controlled properties that supported a range of past industrial operations and will identify and prioritize privately-owned brownfield sites requiring environmental assessment.

The city's objective is to return brownfield sites in the downtown and mill districts to the city's market and tax roles, while encouraging a mixed-use redevelopment of the reclaimed properties. Claremont officials plan to accomplish this by performing site assessments on priority sites and preparing cleanup and reuse plans for these sites. The Pilot will also fund community involvement activities.

The city of Nashua and the New Hampshire Office of State Planning received supplemental site assessment for ongoing brownfield grant projects.

Nashua will receive $100,000 supplemental assistance for the Broad Street Parkway, a two-mile-long, four-lane parkway that will connect I-93 to the downtown area. As part of environmental studies prepared for this project, more than 30 contaminated industrial sites were identified in the vicinity of the project area. Although the new parkway will greatly increase their value by improving accessibility, uncertainties regarding site contamination have discouraged new businesses .

The original project enabled the city to inventory contaminated sites within the new Broad Street Parkway corridor such as the Whitney Screw and the Bennett Street sites. Additional work is needed to determine the extent of contamination at the Bennett Street site as well as to address liability issues identified during the original project and evaluate potential cleanup strategies.

Like Nashua, the New Hampshire Coastal Program will receive $100,000 in supplemental assistance for an ongoing brownfields project and additional $50,000 funding for protecting greenspace at the Craig Supply site in Durham, which is located in the Coastal Piscataqua River Watershed.

"Returning our lands to safe and productive use will ultimately increase local tax revenues and help to create jobs," said U.S. Rep. John E. Sununu. "That is why this brownfields funding for the Coastal Piscataqua River Watershed is so critical. I commend all those involved at the federal, state, and local level for their continued dedication to this project."

The state will use the supplemental assistance to complete environmental assessments and cleanup planning at the Craig Supply site, which was used as a dry cleaner supply company and is located in the middle of the University of New Hampshire's campus. Reuse of the property is needed to improve transportation and parking and provide space for light commercial enterprises.

"The cleanup of Brownfields not only removes hazardous chemicals from contaminated areas, but it allows communities to develop productive alternatives for the once useless land. These awards will helps Nashua, Claremont and Durham to clean up these sites and turn what has been a liability into an asset for the entire community," said U.S. Senator Judd Gregg.

U.S. Senator Robert Smith said: "I am grateful to President Bush, first for signing my brownfields bill into law, and now for putting that new law to work by providing the resources needed to clean up and redevelop these brownfield sites in New Hampshire."

For more information, visit the following EPA Web sites:

Smart Growth

Brownfields

New England Success Stories