The Merrimack Valley Planning Commission is thrilled to announce they have recently been selected to receive $1.5 million in assessment and Revolving Loan funds (RLF) from the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Brownfields Program. This funding comes as a direct result of President Biden’s bipartisan congressional action to pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which invests more than $1.5 billion into the EPA’s Brownfields Program.
Coastal Metals, Merrimac
Brownfields are properties that are typically abandoned and for sale or lease, whose redevelopment is compromised by the presence of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants. Due to the complications surrounding their redevelopment, these sites are often unattractive to developers and difficult to reuse. The EPA’s Brownfields Program, established in 1995, works to remove the barriers to Brownfield reuse by empowering states, communities, and other stakeholders with the tools necessary to assess, clean up, and reuse these locations. Often, these funds help build community resources including local businesses, multi-family housing, and open space. This assistance comes, among other avenues, from Assessment grants which supply money to communities to assess the necessary cleanup of a Brownfields site, and Revolving Loan Funds (RLF) which are grants and low-interest loans provided to communities to pursue clean up and reuse endeavors.
Coastal Metals, Merrimac
Since MVPC began participating in the Brownfields program almost 20 years ago, it has funded numerous impactful efforts through its EPA granted assessment and RLF programs. These include Newburyport’s Clipper City Rail Trail, Coastal Metals in Merrimac, Heritage Park and Riverwalk in Amesbury, 29 Elm Street in Salisbury, Hooker Howe/Webster Building in Haverhill, and the Oxford Paper site in Lawrence. Now, with the help of these newly received funds, MVPC looks forward to funding more Brownfield site endeavors than ever before, ultimately leading the Merrimack Valley towards an economically and environmentally sustainable future.
Clipper City Rail Trail, Newburyport
Moving forward, MVPC and their Brownfields consultant, Credere Associates LLC, will be presenting to the 15 communities of the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission on how Brownfields can best serve them in promoting the cleanup and reuse of sites across the valley. Following that initial touchpoint, MVPC and Credere Associates will conduct a Brownfields “Roadshow”, connecting with each community individually to identify potential Brownfield sites within their jurisdiction.
MVPC is thrilled to have been awarded this funding and looks forward to the opportunity to advance economic development and revitalization across the Merrimack Valley while ensuring the most efficient and impactful use of these funds.
Clipper City Rail Trail
Interested in more information about the EPA’s investment? Check out the original press release.
For more information about MVPC’s Brownfields program, head to our program page.
Cover: Geordie Vining, City of Newburyport
Other PC: Credere Associates, LLC