Mosaico Gets Grant for Brownfield

Brownfields throughout the state — including a site in Bristol — are tabbed for cleanings, thanks to $1.2 million in federal funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

will receive $200,000 to clean up the former Bristol Industrial Park. The site, contaminated with petroleum, was used for rubber and other heavy manufacturing uses for more than 100 years.

Mosaico is among four Rhode Island organizations — the Paul Cuffee School; Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management; and Blackstone Valley Community Action Program are the others — and 245 nationwide that will receive competitive grants from the EPA to help clean up contaminated land, create jobs, and protect public health.

A brownfield site is property where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. 

“This federal funding will help local partners clean up our communities and revitalize these sites to restore them to productive use,” said Sen. Jack Reed, chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees federal funding for all EPA programs. “Not only will this federal investment help protect the health and well-being of residents and the environment, but it will generate job growth, increase surrounding property values and strengthen the local economy.”

The Brownfields Program, administered by the EPA, empowers communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, clean up and reuse brownfield sites. In addition to the industrial park site, the projects include:

Paul Cuffee School will receive a total of $400,000 for two brownfield cleanup grants to clean up and redevelop adjacent properties for a new parking lot and athletic field for students.  The former Living Room Nightclub site in Providence, where soil is contaminated with metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons co-mingled with petroleum, will be cleaned up.

Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management will receive $400,000 to conduct two Phase I and two Phase II environmental site assessments.  Brownfields assessment will help the state and local communities plan for cleanups and conduct community outreach activities related to environmental contamination at sites and leverage resources for redevelopment.

Blackstone Valley Community Action Program will receive $200,000 to clean up hazardous substances at the former Laurel Hill Playground in Pawtucket.  This playground was the former location of an elementary school for almost 100 years until its demolition in 1970.  It was then used as a playground, but has been vacant for 10 years.  The subsurface is contaminated with heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from the use of undocumented fill materials.