Urban Environmental Program in New England

Target Issues

Environmental Health:

• Lead poisoning
• Asthma
• Indoor Air Quality
• Children’s Health
• Sensitive Receptors/Populations

Urban Toxics (Air, Water & Soil):

• Lead
• PCBs
• Dioxin
• Mercury
• Petroleum
• Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs)/Bacteria
• Cr6
• Particulate Matter
• Ozone

Urban Development/Redevelopment:

• Vacant Lots
• Urban Agriculture
• Smart Growth
• Transportation
• Open Space/Green Space

Measurable Results

• The Food Project: Helped restore 2 acres of vacant urban land in Roxbury, MA into small farms. Increased farmed land from four to twenty-one acres that now engage over 3,000 youth to produce and distribute over 300,000 lbs of organic produce annually in Boston.
• The City of Providence/Direct Action for Rights & Equality: Worked with City and local nonprofit to conduct lead soil sampling on 170 vacant lots and create a Special Vacant Lot for $1 Policy to allow adjacent neighbors and qualified residents to purchase some lots for $1. Worked with City of Providence to secure funding to remediate the 40 most contaminated lots and to secure funding for qualified residents to rehabilitate target vacant lots in exchange for returning the vacant lots to productive reuse with 5 years of maintenance.
• Neighborhood of Affordable Housing, Chelsea Human Services Collaborative & Urban Ecology Institute: Worked with partners and Smart Growth team to create Master Plan for Chelsea Creek – identifying available parcels of land along the Chelsea Creek in East Boston, Chelsea, and Revere and creating a community vision for each parcel. Worked with EPA Enforcement to negotiate and secure $2.1 M SEP to fund restoration of 4.5 acres of contaminated property in East Boston into the Condor Street Urban Wild. Final site will be open in Spring 2003 and will include a restored salt marsh and the only safe public access to the waterfront in East Boston.
• Knox Parks Foundation: Knox Parks Foundation in partnership with the UEP, CT DEP, City of Hartford, and community partners turned a two acre vacant lot into a passive park and urban garden. UEP helped Knox Parks to obtain SEP resources through the RCRA Enforcement Division in order to remediate lead from the soil using phytoremediation.
• Pliny Street: The site of a former plating company was found to be contaminated with hexavalent chromium, lead and other dangerous toxics. The abandoned property was right in the heart of an environmental justice community. The UEP worked with community representatives as well as EPA's Emergency Response, and state and local agencies to leverage resources to safely secure the site, conduct sampling and community outreach, hold public information meetings and plan for future site reuse.