EPA awards $2m grants in N.H.

The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $2 million in brownfields grants to six New Hampshire communities and agencies, which are planning to use the money to assess and address contaminated parcels of land for redevelopment.

Grants of $200,000 have been awarded to:

• The Nashua Regional Planning Commission, which will assess known and potential petroleum contaminated brownfields in the 12 regions it represents, focusing on urbanized areas, schools and those that affect drinking water.
• The city of Nashua, which will perform Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments and clean-up of the former Nashua Manufacturing boiler and coal house on Pine Street Extension. It also will transport and dispose of impacted soil.
• The town of Hillsborough, which will conduct environmental site assessment and clean up of the 2.6 acres surrounding Woods Woolen Mills on West Mill Street.
• The Rockingham Planning Commission, which will prepare an inventory of potential brownfields sites and conduct up to five Phase I environmental site assessments and necessary Phase II assessments.
• The Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission, which will review and prioritize a list of known brownfields sites and perform up to 12 Phase I and three Phase II environmental site assessments on communities in its district.
• The North Country Council, which will receive two $200,000 grants to inventory and rank sites for hazardous substances and petroleum and perform up to between eight and ten Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments for both.
• The Southwest Region Planning Commission also received two $200,000 grants and will identify and characterize brownfields within their district and perform up to five Phase I and four Phase II environmental site assessments.

The grants were among $18 million given to communities throughout New England and $70 million awarded to communities throughout the country. – TRACIE STONE