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EPA AWARDS $200,000 IN BROWNFIELDS FUNDS FOR USE IN CENTRAL RHODE ISLAND

Release Date: 07/15/1998
Contact Information: Leo Kay, Press Office, (617) 918-4154

BOSTON - The Environmental Protection Agency awarded $200,000 in funds today to the Central Rhode Island Development Corporation to revitalize abandoned brownfield sites in Coventry, Cranston, East Greenwich, Johnston, North Kingstown, Warwick and West Warwick whose redevelopment has thus far been thwarted by contamination.

The state has listed 122 sites that blight the landscape and prevent redevelopment, many of which have been abandoned by their owners. Because greenfields are rare, there is little to attract new industry or keep existing manufacturers that need to expand.

The project goals are to:

• stop the deterioration of hazardous sites before they become direct threats to the health of citizens;
• restore one or more sites identified through community outreach to environmentally sound conditions;
• bring the sites to economically productive status with environmentally sound businesses;
• demonstrate to the cities a successful methodology for cleaning up brownfield sites. The Central Rhode Island Development Corporation proposes a ten-step process to assess contamination, develop rededication plans, estimate costs, and hold open forums seeking proposals for site development.

"Central Rhode Island, the heart of a once flourishing manufacturing industry, holds great potential for economic redevelopment," said Sen. John H. Chaffee, chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. "The proximity to port, rail and highway systems could be very attractive to industries that may want to expand or relocate their operations. This federal funding will help CRIDCO assess and address any remaining industrial hazards at selected sites in the region in an effort to revitalize the economy."

Rep. Bob Weygand said, "In this region we have many economic assets such as port, rail, and highway systems that are to a large degree underutilized. This grant will enable the Central Rhode Island Development Corporation to rehabilitate contaminated sites turning them into economically thriving real estate. The end result will be business growth and job retention."

As part of today's announcement, the EPA's New England office awarded nearly $1.8 million in grants and services to New England municipalities for brownfields activities. Since the program's inception four years ago, New England towns and municipalities from Limestone Maine to Bridgeport, Conn. have now received 38 brownfields grants, valued at more than $6.5 million.

Other grants going to New England municipalities today included: Brockton, Mansfield, the Montachusett Regional Planning Commission in Fitchburg, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection for work in Amesbury, and Colrain, Mass; Stamford and Middletown, Conn.; and the State of New Hampshire.