SPRINGFIELD – The Pioneer Valley Planning Commission is now accepting applications from interested parties seeking assistance to conduct environmental site assessment activities at eligible brownfields in Hampshire and Hampden counties. Under this grant-of-service program, PVPC will direct its licensed environmental consultant to complete assessment activities, and potentially cleanup planning, at six to ten key sites throughout the region on behalf of local governments and other eligible entities and property owners.
Brownfields are defined as properties where contamination (or suspected contamination) inhibits full use or re-use. By assessing these sites, property owners can learn what resources are required for cleanup and what types of re-use may be possible. Subsequent cleanup and redevelopment of brownfields can help protect public health and the environment, create jobs, restore neighborhoods, and increase local tax revenues.
According to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, more than 4,000 contaminated or potentially contaminated sites have been reported in Hampshire and Hampden counties. Several hundred still require additional testing and/or cleanup work before they can be safely returned to productive use.
Funding for the assessment program is provided through two grants awarded to PVPC by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2012. Half of the program budget is committed to studying brownfields contaminated by petroleum-related substances, while the remainder will be used to investigate other types of contaminants. Sites located within Areas of Brownfields Interest identified in PVPC’s Regional Brownfields Plan will be given priority under the assessment program.
For more information or to download an application for the brownfields assessment program from PVPC’s website, go to www.pvpc.org/brownfields. Applications for assistance are accepted on a rolling basis and will be reviewed quarterly with input from PVPC’s Brownfields Advisory Committee. To participate in the initial quarterly review this spring, completed applications must be received by PVPC no later than April 30, 2013.
In addition to the assessment program, PVPC currently has more than $1 million in brownfields cleanup funding available through its Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund. Subgrants from the fund may be available to municipalities and non-profits on a case-by-case basis.
For more information, please contact PVPC Senior Planner Andrew Loew ([email protected]) or Principal Planner Anne Capra ([email protected]) at (413) 781-6045.
