Brownfields 2006 Grant Fact Sheet

South Brewer Redevelopment, LLC, Brewer, 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

$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected South Brewer Redevelopment, LLC, for a brownfields cleanup grant. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to clean up the Eastern Fine Paper Mill site at 517 South Main Street in Brewer. The former paper mill site is contaminated with a variety of hazardous substances, including PCBs, semivolatile organic compounds, metals, and coal tar. Grant funds will be used to remove and dispose of contaminated soil and conduct community outreach activities.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

South Brewer Redevelopment, LLC, was selected to receive a brownfields cleanup grant. Located in southern Maine, Brewer (population 8,951) was the home of the Eastern Fine Paper Mill, located on the Penobscot River waterfront. The mill was the city's largest employer for 90 years. For most of that time, it also was the city's largest taxpayer and sewer user, accounting for more than one-half of the wastewater treatment facility's annual revenues. Closure of the mill has resulted in increased unemployment, a decreased tax base, pending reductions in city programs resulting from the budget deficit, and increased sewer rates. The cleanup site is located in an area where 18 percent of residents live below the poverty level and 26 percent of households earn an annual income of less than $15,000. The waterfront area next to the mill is affected by slum and blight conditions largely driven by the mill closure, thereby contributing to the creation of additional brownfields. Redevelopment options include a waterfront trail and additional greenspace as part of Brewer's plan to become a high-tech, cultural, and retail center. Brownfields redevelopment will attract jobs, increase the tax base and property values, eliminate conditions that encourage sprawl and blight, reduce human health risks, and protect the environment.

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: South Brewer Redevelopment, LLC, ME
207-989-7500

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