EPA grants New Bedford 800K to cleanup brownfield sites

May 7--NEW BEDFORD -- Sites that have long sat empty in the Whaling City due to environmental concerns are about to get some attention thanks to an $800,000 grant from the EPA.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday that New Bedford was one of six grantees in Massachusetts selected to receive $2.7 million to assess and clean up contaminated properties under the agency's Brownfields program.

The city will use the $800,000 to create a Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund Grant that will provide loans to private companies that are interested in developing the sites, according to Mayor Jon Mitchell.

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The loan fund activities will focus on New Bedford's "urban core", according to a press release from the EPA, which contains nearly 100 brownfield sites and four Qualified Opportunity Zones that are located along the city's waterfront in federally designated flood plains.

Priority sites include the Revere Copper site, the Cannon Street Power Station (commonly called the NStar site), the Quest District, the Morse Cutting Tool site, a former textile mill at 1R Coffin Avenue, and the Payne Cutlery/Elco Dress site, according the release. The sites range from the North to the South ends.

In July of last year, father and son Charlie and Michael Quinn of Quinn Fisheries purchased the old Revere Copper site with plans to turn it into a commercial shipyard.

The site had a 147-year history of rolling sheet copper, fashioning brass nautical fittings, and even producing war materials at critical points in history.

Cannon Street Power Station also has its own rich history, after being constructed in the 1860s, it has been vacant since NStar closed it in 1992.

In the early 2000s, it looked like the building was all set to get new life as the Oceanarium but the developers were unable to secure millions in federal tax credits, blowing the plans for the $127 million project.

Plans in recent years to turn the building into a casino also faltered after the developer withdrew, citing too much competition in southeastern Massachusetts

Mitchell said, on a virtual press conference Wednesday, that the grant was especially gratifying because the EPA has a history of rekindling brownfields around the city and after addressing some of the "low hanging fruit," this grant will allow the city to address some of the more difficult locations

"New Bedford has been struggling over several years to fill some of the larger gaps in redeveloping the contaminated land," Mitchell said.

There had previously been several caps on the brownfield fund, according to Mitchell, that restricted the EPA's ability to fully fund projects at the more difficult sites.

Mitchell testified before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Environment advocating for the expansion of the brownfields law to provide more funding for economic development to cities, which had formerly been capped at $500,000.

"It was one of those programs that enjoyed bipartisan support, a rare thing in Washington, and so that bill passed," Mitchell said, "It's great to see that those grants are flowing."

Mitchell said New Bedford is thrilled to get the grant and commended EPA New England Regional Administrator Dennis Deziel for continuing to further important programs like the brownfields program all the while dealing with COVID-19 like everybody else.

"COVID 19 has impacted the economy and redevelopment in every corner of New England. Today's investment of EPA Brownfields assessment and cleanup funding provides a much-needed boost for economic development and job creation in many of New England's hardest hit and underserved communities," Deziel said in the press statement, "Brownfields projects are always an economic catalyst, and this funding has never been more important to our local partners."

In addition to New Bedford, Lowell received a $300,000 grant to conduct environmental site assessments and develop clean up plans for sites in their city, specifically Lowell Iron and Steel property and the Lowell Used Auto Parts property, and Lawrence was awarded a $500,000 Brownfields Cleanup Grant to clean up a former scrap metal recycling facility.

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