New England Regional Administrator Cash Announces Recipients by Twelve Communities in Southern Maine of Millions in Brownfields Investdment Funds This Morning.

The city of Gardner will Recieve $500,ooo. for a Community Wide Assessment Grant to Assess the Impact of Paper Mills and Other Brownfields Within the city, Including the Cobbosee Stream Corridor and the Downtown Water Street area.

Some of the Representatives of the Twelve Communities in District 1 to Receive EPA Funds Pose for a Group Photo at the Outdoor Announcement at Ocean Gateway, Portland.

New England Regional Administrator David W. Cash announced the award of $19.7 million to twelve (12) entities in southern Maine at a presentation this morning at Ocean Gateway on the east end of Portland. Southern Maine is in District 1 and is the District represented by Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) who addresssed the outdoor audience as well this morning,

The award ceremony is part of a greatly increased Brownfields investment in New England this year made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to revitalize communities across the country by cleaning up contaminated and blighted sites and redeveloping them for productive use,.

“EPA’s Brownfields program has a long track record of making critical investments that are a catalyst to revitalize communities in Maine and across New England,” said Administrator Cash.  “Thanks to funding from Congress and the Biden Administration EPA is maknig a historic investment to help communities in Maine perform Brownfields assessments and cleanups.  These projects will jump start economic redevelopment and job creation and will do so in many neighborhoods that have been underserved and are ready to turn environmental risks into economic assets.”

“Hazardous sites not only pose a health danger to Mainers – especially as extreme weather becomes more common – but they also limit important economic activity in our communities,” said Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine). “As Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee that overseas funding for the EPA, I’m thrilled to see nearly $14 million coming back to Maine’s First District to help towns and underserved areas mitdigate pollution by cleaning up and repurposing contaminated sites to create valued community spaces.  Thanks to President Biden, this money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will make generational investments in each of these towns creating hundreds of jobs and securing more space for Mainers to create and expand their businesses.”

The Congresswoman added that Maine has a long history of industrial sites when we didn’t understand the consequences.  Old buildings are showing that.  Everyone wants to vacation and live in Maine.  We need to make sure it’s a good place to be.”

The city of Bath will receive $500,000 in EPA funds according to today’s announcement.  Emily Ruger, Director of Economic Development for Bath, said: ” We have a history of shipbuiding in Bath. There are a lot of Brownfields from former industrial sites.  They need assessments to figure out if they are contaminated and then figure out how to proceed.  There are between 8 – 12 sites throughout the city needing assessments.  Most of them are on the waterfront.”   .

“The EPA’s Brownfields investment in Maine has meant a great deal to the city of Portland.  With the most recent round of funds we received through the revolving loan fund, we were able to provide support to ten different sites in Portland,” said Portland’s Mayor Kate Snyder.  “…….We are thankful to once again be awarded those funds and look forward to further investing in our community with the $3 million that was awarded to us.  We’d like to thank the Biden Administration …..for …. support of this.”

The twelve (12) entities receiving EPA’s funds announced today include:  The city of Bath, the city of Gardiner, the city of South Portland, the City of Waterville, the Town of Gray, the city of Rockland, the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments, Greater Portland Council of Governments, Kennebec Valley Council of Governments, Southern Maine Planning and Deveopment Commission, the City of Portland and the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development.,