Brownfields 2006 Grant Fact Sheet

River Valley Growth Council, Peru, ME

EPA BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield site is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. On January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields Law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through four competitive grant programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. Additionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism.

CLEANUP GRANT

$122,744 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the River Valley Growth Council for a brownfields cleanup grant. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to remove pipe and tank insulation, transite panels, oil drums, and light ballasts from the Old Peru Diamond Match Mill at 1 Mill Road. From 1934 to 1988, the mill was used to manufacture small wood products.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The River Valley Growth Council was selected to receive a brownfields cleanup grant. The River Valley area (population 16,721) is comprised of ten towns within two counties of western Maine. This area was the heart of early woodworking industries, most of which have closed over the past 50 years, leaving a landscape littered with razed structures and abandoned sites. The Old Peru Diamond Match Mill site is the largest of these sites. Because the topography of the River Valley area allows for little industrial land, the significant number of idled industrial properties has had a very damaging effect on the local economy. The mill's proximity to Spear Stream and the Androscoggin River represents a potential threat to groundwater, surface water, and private wells in the area. Cleanup of the Old Peru Diamond Match Mill will help protect the local community by removing the threat of contamination and allow the Council to turn the abandoned manufacturing site into a state-of-the-art biorefinery. This refinery is expected to attract skilled professionals to the area and significantly expand the local tax base. The portion of the property situated along the Androscoggin River will remain open to the public, providing access to one of the nation's best bass fishing locations.

CONTACTS

For further information, including specific grant contacts, additional grant information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/brownfields.

EPA Region 1 Brownfields Team
617-918-1424
http://www.epa.gov/region01/brownfields/

Grant Recipient: River Valley Growth Council, ME
207-369-0396

The cooperative agreement for this grant has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.