Brownfield survey sent out
CARIBOU-Northern Maine Development planners are looking for help in how to best utilize $400,000 in Brownfield assessment funds by asking municipal officials to take a few minutes to fill out a survey which should be arriving in their mailboxes in the next few days. "We are asking town managers, community development directors, the tribes and Loring officials to provide a list of brownfields in their community," said Jay Kamm, senior planner at Northern Maine Development Commission. "This is pretty basic survey, consisting of six questions. Our goal is to follow up with town officials and/or the property owners to determine their interest in NMDC's program and to get a good handle on what is out there." 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. The purpose of the survey also serves in pairing a recently awarded $400,000 grant by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assist in the revitalization of the Brownfield sites and a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant, which resulted in the GROWashington-Aroostook planning imitative. "I think what will really link the two grants together is if a municipality does have a potential brownfield site, does the municipality have any ideas for redevelopment, said Connie Akerson, NMDC environmental planner. "Ultimately what we would like to see at the former brownfield site is housing or a senior center for the community. Hopefully we can identify and work on that through this survey." Kamm and Akerson are hoping the surveys are returned by the first week in October. As for the carrot to get people to participate in the survey Akerson summed it up in one line. "NMDC has $400,000 to assist in the revitalization of brownfield sites and would your community by interested in more information about these grant funds" She added the two grants work in concert with another. "The HUD grant allows us to plan and the EPA grant allows us to do," said Akerson. "This is all about closing the loop and getting these brownfields identified, cleaned up and redeveloped," Kamm said." Municipalities or landowners who want more information are urged to contact Kamm or Akerson at NMDC at (207) 498-8736 or check out the website www.northernmainebrownfields.org. |