EPA funds mill site cleanup in Brewer
Brownfields grant totals $350,000
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
BREWER - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was so
impressed with the city's Brownfields Program application that it did something
rare: It gave more cleanup money for the defunct Eastern Fine Paper Co. mill
site than originally was asked for.
"The program usually gives grants for $200,000, but this check is for $350,000,"
Stephen Silva, water quality branch chief for the EPA's New England Region, said
Tuesday morning during an announcement ceremony at the mill gate. "That reflects
well."
The EPA assessment grant will allow Brewer to move forward with plans to
redevelop the 41-acre former industrial site into a multiuse facility without
worry that a contaminated area could stop the process.
"It's an assessment grant, so as we remove buildings from the site, this will
allow us to test those areas [for contaminants]," Drew Sachs, Brewer economic
development director, said Tuesday. "With this [grant] we have the ability to
test it, remove it and move on."
The EPA's Brownfields Program helps states and communities by providing funding
to assess, clean and redevelop former abandoned, polluted or contaminated
property and, in turn, enhance environmental quality, spur economic development
and revitalize communities.
"The ramification of the mill closure includes increased joblessness, lowering
the tax base, increased tax burdens, reduction in city programs and 18 percent
poverty rate," a brownfields grant fact sheet states.
"Redevelopment also will serve as a catalyst to reverse the slum and blight of
the area, reduce the risk of hazardous contaminants and diminish the stigma that
has impacted property values," the document provided by Silva states.
The funding also could be used to address asbestos removal from within the
buildings and the voluntary remediation action plan, which outlines the cleanup
process, Sachs said.
The city, under South Brewer Redevelopment LLC, took over the former mill site a
year ago as part of the sales agreement of Eastern Fine's parent company and is
working with Minnesota-based developer Michael Stern to convert the site into a
destination point for the state.
Preliminary plans call for a "city within a city," with upscale retail shops and
restaurants, condos and affordable housing, a performing arts area, a movie
theater, a museum, space for artists to create, an open market and a ice rink.
City officials and Silva both said the EPA could assist Brewer with future
funding.
"I will tell you EPA will stay with this process and [will] see this area
cleaned," Silva said.
After the press conference announcing the funding, Silva said the city is
expected to apply for additional brownfields loan and grant programs for
cleaning up the mill site.
Assistant Economic Development Director D'arcy Main-Boyington concurred with
Silva, saying, "The next opportunity we have [to apply], we'll certainly take
it."
Mayor Joseph Ferris, City Manager Steve Bost, representatives from the offices
of U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins and U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud also
attended the event.
"This is a great day for Brewer," Ferris said.
In a prepared joint statement, Collins and Snowe said they were pleased with the
$1.6 million in federal funding that is being awarded this week to nine
brownfields-designated sites in Maine.
"These investments will provide economic opportunities in our state, while
protecting the integrity of the environment for future generations," the
statement says.
Other Maine sites that are receiving brownfields funding include: the
Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments ($200,000); Bath ($200,000); Lewiston
($400,000, two grants); Portland ($200,000); Downtown Revitalization Corp. in
Norway ($68,0000); and Kennebec Valley Council of Governments ($200,000).
A copyright story from the Bangor Daily News, Wednesday, May 11, 2005.
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