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Brownfields 2008 Grant Fact Sheet
Sanford, 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 this 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.
ASSESSMENT GRANT
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Town of Sanford for a brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to inventory and prioritize brownfield sites throughout Sanford. Grant funds also will be used to conduct up to five Phase I and four to six Phase II environmental site assessments and support community outreach activities.
COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION
The Town of Sanford was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. Located along the Mousam River in southwestern Maine, Sanford (population 20,806) thrived from the 1800s through the 1950s as a vibrant textile mill town. When the mills relocated in 1954, one third of the town's population became unemployed. By the 1990s, most of Sanford's manufacturing base had moved. Since late 2000, additional closures of industrial facilities have resulted in the loss of 1,355 jobs. Today, the town's unemployment and poverty rates exceed county and state rates, and the median household income is below county and state averages. The town's former textile mill complex is vacant and symbolizes Sanford's economic distress. Many of the town's 20 identified brownfields lie within this complex. The complex is in such poor condition that the county assessor values the property at less than one-tenth of its cumulative replacement value. Brownfields assessment will help Sanford determine the extent of contamination at the sites and is expected to provide incentive for investment in the properties.
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.
EPA Region 1 Brownfields Team
617-918-1424
EPA Region 1 Brownfields web site
Grant Recipient: Town of Sanford, ME
207-324-9150
The information presented in this fact sheet comes from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. The cooperative agreement for the grant has not yet been negotiated. Therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.