ATHOL – Utilizing a $500,000 federal grant, the town has begun the process of evaluating 12 sites in town believed to qualify as brownfields.
The town was awarded the grant through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Communitywide Assessment program. The funds will also be used to develop proposals for reuse of any brownfields sites and for community outreach activities.
“We are fortunate that this is a program that hasn’t been targeted for cuts,” said Planning and Development Director Eric Smith. “These funds are alive and active, and we want to move forward with this program.”
The town will have time to meet the goals of the grant, said Smith, adding that the EPA has given until Sept. 30, 2028.
According to the EPA website, a brownfield is a property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant. It is estimated that there are more than 450,000 brownfields in the U.S.
The first of what could be several public outreach meetings has been scheduled for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 24, at Athol Public Library. Smith said the meeting will cover what a brownfield is and how redevelopment is done based on the level of contamination.
“People may not know what is actually there, so that’s why we have to do the assessment,” he said. “So, we’ll provide background on that.”
Smith said several years ago the University of Connecticut provided some assistance to Athol under the U.S. EPA’s Brownfields Assistance Program. The Montachusett Regional Planning Commission, he added, has also assisted with assessment work. Some of the proposed sites are owned by the town and others are privately-owned.
“There are about a dozen private properties that we’ve sent letters to about the meeting….The idea for this meeting is that we could talk to people who got the letters about their property, what the assessment would entail, and try to get them interested in an assessment,” Smith said.
The first phase of the assessment process, said Smith, consists of a visual survey of each property, as well as interviews with the owners. Phase II will consist of soil and groundwater sampling and learning more about what’s in the ground.
As an example of the sites to be assessed is 84 South St., former site the Athol Machine & Foundry Company. That location, said Smith, is a property “on our housing production plan that is targeted for potential reuse for housing. I’ve actually found some apartment plans for that property from 1989. But there is still some interest in putting apartments there if the property can be cleaned up.
“The ultimate goal,” Smith said, “is not just to get these properties assessed but to ultimately cleaned up. And there are other funding sources available for cleanup. We can certainly seek additional funding once we get through this process.”
Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.