Region 1: EPA New England

Greenbytes: March 25, 2005 Edition

Greetings from EPA New England. We hope you find this edition of Greenbytes useful and we encourage you to give us feedback. For information on subscribing or unsubscribing see the section at the end of this message.

Feature: Brownfields Success Stories
Somerville Mass. Head Start Center

Note From EPA New England Regional Administrator Bob Varney:

Most people in the environmental field know what Brownfields are - a property (often urban) for which redevelopment or reuse may be complicated because of the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. During the past several years, EPA has focused intently on how we can assist communities to evaluate, clean and put Brownfields back into productive use.

This week we are beginning an occasional series that will explore recent projects that demonstrate how Brownfields revitalization projects truly make a difference to people, families and communities in need - bringing new economic opportunities, resources and pride to areas that suffered from neglect, blight and contamination.

Somerville's Head Start Program Benefits from Brownfields Revitalization

Last week marked a new beginning for the Community Action Agency of Somerville's (CAAS) Head Start program. After looking for a home that would bring together its children's educational programs that have historically been scattered throughout the city, its quest for a new, central location to house its programs has finally come to fruition.

Creativity and perseverance paid off when CAAS spotted three vacant lots on Allen Street, a cluster of Brownfields located in the densest neighborhood of Somerville. Using an EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant of $350,000 awarded to the city in 1996, CAAS and the city worked together to assess all three sites for contamination. The work revealed soil and/or water contaminated by polychlorinated byphenyls (PCB's), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, antimony, arsenic, lead and nickel.

With the assessment work complete, CAAS purchased the properties and began remediating the site. EPA supported the clean-up phase of the project with an additional $200,000 EPA Brownfields Cleanup Grant in 2003, and a $500,000 loan from EPA's Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund in 2004. Additional funding for the project came from multiple private and public donors, including the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development Block Grant program, the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services Administration for Children, the Boston Community Capital Fund, two anonymous private foundations and the CAAS' capital campaign.

Before building on the new site, Head Start classes were held at various locations throughout the city. Operating under one roof saves the program money and allows it to spend more on its unique early childhood education programs for children of low-income families. CAAS determined that it will save money on administration and transportation costs as well. The facility opened last week with eight classrooms that serve a total of 126 children.

By cleaning up these blighted properties and opening this educational facility, the city of Somerville and CAAS will restore pride in the neighborhood, improve the tax base for the city, and provide a valuable resource for the children of low income families - a great example of a true Brownfields success story.

More information on Brownfields projects in New England is available at: http://www.epa.gov/region1/brownfields/ .

Press Releases

Bangor ME - Cleanup continues at former chroming facility

Five New England organizations join Energy Star Challenge

Eight New England facilities join National Environmental Performance Track Program

Meetings & Conferences

Cleanup at Apco Mossberg Site
Thurs. Mar. 31, 7 p.m.

GE - Housatonic River Citizens Coordinating Council
Wed. Apr. 6, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

What's New on the Web

Regional

Boston Harbor - state of the harbor updated info

Deerfield MA - Draft NPDES permit for B&M Railyard - updated info

National

Beach Grants - Add'l $10 million made available to develop & implement beach monitoring and notification programs

In The News Daily Email Service

"In The News" is a free daily service that provides links to today's top newspaper stories about the New England environment and links to related EPA New England information.

In The News Email Service: As soon as today's edition of "In The News" has been posted we will inform you via email.