Franklin Regional Council of Governments, Massachusetts BCRLF Pilot Project

PILOT SNAPSHOT Franklin Regional Council, MA

Date of Loan: June 2001 Amount:$200,000 Loan Profile: Town of Colrain, Upper Mill complex: 5.75 acres located on the east side of the North River.

BACKGROUND

EPA selected the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG) in a coalition with the Town of Colrain and the City of Greenfield, MA for a Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund (BCRLF) Pilot in September 1999. Under this program, EPA provided the FRCOG with $1,000,000 to capitalize its revolving loan fund. Using the BCRLF Pilot funds, the FRCOG will provide loans to public and private parties for the purpose of cleaning up brownfields sites in the two municipalities. Each municipality is eligible for up to $500,000 to be spent in their community. The FRCOG is making its first loan to Colrain, a rural community of 1,757 people in Western Massachusetts. The Town suffered the loss of its major employer and largest taxpayer in 1996. More than half of the residents in Colrain (56%) are classified as low to moderate income. According to the 1990 census, Colrain had a 10.8% poverty rate which was 36% higher than surrounding communities in Franklin County and 21% higher than the poverty rate for Massachusetts as a whole. This BCRLF loan represents the first step in brownfields redevelopment in Colrain.

In July 1998, EPA selected the Town of Colrain for a Brownfields Demonstration Assessment Pilot. Colrain also received supplemental funding support for that pilot.

STRUCTURE OF BCRLF PILOT PROGRAM

The FRCOG is the lead agency for the BCRLF pilot and will also serve as fund manager. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MADEP) will assist the FRCOG by providing brownfields site management services. U.S. EPA will provide funding (as part of the original BCRLF award to FRCOG) to the MADEP through a Cooperative Agreement for these services. The FRCOG has entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with the MADEP that outlines respective roles and responsibilities.

BCRLF BORROWER

The Town of Colrain is the BCRLF borrower for this project. Under eminent domain authority, the Town took ownership of the Upper Mill Complex property in the fall of 2000. The Town will conduct abatement and removal of environmental contamination as well as demolition of the existing buildings on the property using both BCRLF loan funds and a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), as appropriate. BCRLF loan funds will be used for removal activities at the site, including demolition and site preparation as part of the site cleanup. A second phase of cleanup may ensue following completion of the first phase and pending further investigation. The FRCOG will loan the Town of Colrain $200,000 at 2.5% interest for a 10 year loan term for the cleanup of the site. The DHCD also will provide a grant of $590,000.

BCRLF CLEANUP SITE

The Upper Mill complex is a parcel totaling 5.75 acres located on the east side of the North River and situated in a mixed use area. It is a configuration of several connected, fire-ravaged brick and masonry buildings that total over 61,000 square feet that were built around 1900. All buildings are abandoned due to health and safety concerns. Several buildings are structurally unsound.

The Upper Mill complex was previously used by Kendall Mills as part of its manufacturing, bleaching and dyeing operations.

Phase I and Phase II investigations were completed in 1999 & 2000 by Environmental Compliance Services and SEA Consultants as part of Colrain's Site Assessment Demonstration Pilot. These investigations of the insides of the buildings discovered friable and ambient asbestos, boiler ash containing arsenic and lead, poly-cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, metals that include arsenic, lead, mercury, chromium, and selenium and silver found in a manufacturing related "black sand" throughout the building. Much of this contamination has been classified as hazardous waste and exceeds MADEP reportable concentrations. Also found were 55 gallon drums containing waste oil contaminated with volatile organic compounds and transformers and electrical switches thought to contain PCB-contaminated oils. The contamination on the site is believed to be from the former industrial and manufacturing operations.

PROPOSED SITE REUSE PLAN

Removal of friable asbestos and hazardous materials as well as demolition of the existing buildings will allow for further site investigation activities underneath the buildings using Colrain's Assessment Demonstration Pilot. This will determine if any additional cleanup is needed. If additional cleanup is necessary, Colrain or a developer may seek additional FRCOG BCRLF loan funds. A local business has expressed strong interest in expanding its manufacturing operations onto the property following cleanup.

Use of BCRLF Pilot funds must be in accordance with CERCLA, and all CERCLA restrictions on use of funding also apply to BCRLF funds.

CONTACTS

Franklin Regional Council of Governments
(413) 774-3167

Jim Sturgeon, Chairman, Colrain Brownfields Task Force
(413) 624-5500

Kathleen McCabe, Project Manager Upper Mill
(617) 469-2108

EPA Region 1 Project Officer
(617) 918-1389

U.S. EPA-OSWER Outreach and Special Projects Staff
(202) 260-4039;

Visit the EPA Region 1 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region01/brownfields

For additional information, contact the RCRA/Superfund Hotline at: (800) 424-9346 or visit the EPA Brownfields website at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields.