From the Office of Senator Kerry

Friday, March 12, 1999

Washington, DC -- Senator John F. Kerry (D-MA) today hailed funding to cleanup abandoned industrial sites in Massachusetts in an effort to create jobs and economic opportunities while eliminating environmental hazards. During a White House ceremony today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded $161,500 for Worcester, $200,000 for Walpole and $200,000 for Great Barrington to fund brownfields cleanup projects.

"This program provides the funds necessary to cleanup any remaining threats to public health and involves communities in the assessment of the best possible future use for the sites." stated Kerry. "These pilots will aid Walpole, Worcester, and Great Barrington in bolstering economic development and creating cleaner and healthier environments for their citizens."

A Brownfield is a site that is contaminated by hazardous substances, but do not pose a serious enough public health risks to warrant cleanup under the Superfund program.

EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower communities to work together to prevent, assess, safely cleanup, and productively reuse brownfields. Since 1995, EPA has funded more than 200 Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilots.

Kerry is a co-sponsor of the "Brownfields and Environmental Cleanup Act" that provides grants to state and local governments to identify industrial hazardous waste sites for cleanup. The legislation also provides a revolving loan fund to cover the actual cleanup and development costs.

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