Staff Writer
Northern Maine planning officials have received $200,000 in federal funding to identify property that may be contaminated with petroleum products. The Northern Maine Development Commission plans to conduct the assessment with the aim of making recommendations for the site’s clean up and eventual re-use of the property, according to Connie Bondeson, an environmental planner with NMDC..
The project is called the Northern Maine Brownfields Initiative and has a Web site to help the public in becoming familiar with the project and to alert the agency to possible contaminated sites within the Northern Maine Economic Development District.
The district is composed of 71 communities and 137 unorganized territories. In addition to Aroostook County, the district includes parts of Piscataquis, Penobscot and Washington counties.
A steering committee has been established to monthly review the sites that are suspected of have petroleum-based contamination.
According to project officials, brownfield sites often are in highly visible parts of the community. While there is no funding available currently, it is the goal to apply for future clean-up money. Remediation these sites will provide the framework for the cleanup and for the economic development of the site, project officials said.
Such remedial work provides a “psychological boost when residents can see a formerly viable business site back to life and provide jobs and green space,” according to the project’s Web site.
Possible developments would include removal of blight, environmental cleanup, the creation of parks and open space, cultural and historic projects, new and redeveloped commercial space and affordable housing opportunities.
To be selected as a brownfield site, the property has to be located with the development district and the property owner must be willing to redevelopment the site. Additional criteria include whether the site can create jobs and impact the tax base by its remediation.
The Brownfield Project, initiated in 1995, is a federal Environmental Protection Administration program, geared into reclaiming contaminated property and getting it back into producing tax revenue. According to EPA, there are about 450 brownfield sites across the country.
The project’s Web site is www.northernmainebrownfields.org.
