SENATORS SNOWE, COLLINS ANNOUNCE MORE THAN $6 MILLION IN EPA BROWNFIELD GRANTS TO MAINE

U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins today announced that $6,150,000 in federal funding has been awarded for the assessment and cleanup of Brownfield sites in Maine. The federal grants awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will assist in the revitalization of the Brownfield sites for future economic investments and environmental benefit. This grant funding is bolstered by funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) which Senators Snowe and Collins, a bipartisan group of Senators, helped craft earlier this year.

"We are pleased that the EPA has designated these sites throughout Maine as recipients of the vital federal funding for Brownfield cleanups," Senators Snowe and Collins said in a joint statement. "These investments will provide economic opportunities in Maine, while helping to protect the integrity of the environment for future generations."

A brownfield is a property that contains a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant, which hinders the potential to reuse or redevelop the site. The EPA's Brownfields Program assists states and local communities to assess, safely clean up, and reuse brownfields for economic development projects.

The federal funding is being allocated as follows:
• $1,000,000 revolving loan fund grant to the Northern Maine Development Commission
• $1,000,000 revolving loan fund grant to the Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission
• $600,000 in cleanup grants to the Town of Howland
• $400,000 assessment grants to the Washington County Council of Governments
• $400,000 in assessment grants to the Greater Portland Council of Governments
• $400,000 in assessment grants to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection
• $350,000 assessment grant to the City of Augusta
• $200,000 assessment grant to the City of Bath
• $200,000 assessment grant to the City of Lewiston
• $200,000 cleanup grant to the Town of Orono
• $200,000 assessment grant and $400,000 in cleanup grants to the Town of Sanford
• $200,000 assessment grant to the Town of Windham
• $200,000 assessment grant to the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point
• $200,000 assessment grant to the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council
• $200,000 cleanup grant to the Museum L-A in Lewiston