SNOWE, COLLINS ANNOUNCE MORE THAN $1 MILLION IN EPA BROWNFIELD GRANTS TO MAINE

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Susan Collins (R-ME) today announced that $1,618,000 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.

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

"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 our State, while protecting the integrity of the environment for future generations." The federal funding was allocated as follows:

• $200,000 to the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments to assess community-wide hazardous substances

• $200,000 to Bath to assess community-wide hazardous substances

• $350,000 to Brewer to assess the abandoned Eastern Fine paper mill

• $68,000 to the Downtown Revitalization Corporation in Norway to cleanup the Cummings mill

• $200,000 to the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments to assess community-wide hazardous substances

• $200,000 to Lewiston assess community-wide hazardous substances

• $200,000 to Lewiston to cleanup the former W.S. Libbey mill site

• $200,000 to Portland to assess community-wide hazardous substances

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