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CDM was selected by the Town of Walpole, Massachusetts to develop and implement the Town’s Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot Grant funded through the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Brownfields Program. CDM will help the Town to achieve their overall goals from the Brownfields Program including: protection of the public health of the citizens and promotion of the economic health of the business community through the assessment, cleanup and redevelopment of brownfields sites in Town. |
CDM’s Project Team is working with the Town’s Brownfields Committee to bring together brownfields site owners, potential developers, the business community and local residents as partners in the redevelopment process. In order to achieve the Town’s goals from this project, CDM will complete the following activities as part of the Brownfields Pilot Program.
Brownfields Program Development, Stakeholder Buy-in and Site Selection: CDM has developed the Brownfields Program in a manner that enables the residents and project stakeholders to have complete input throughout the duration of the program, particularly during the initial site selection and evaluation process. These activities include identifying stakeholders, holding educational and informational public meetings to foster public awareness and participation consistent with the Community Involvement and Redevelopment Plan discussed below. CDM has develop fact sheets explaining the program, evaluation criteria for site selection, a newsletter and project specific website to keep all stakeholders and interested parties educated and informed of the progress of the of the Brownfields Pilot Program.
CDM is also working with the Town’s Brownfields Committee and the project stakeholders to identify and select sites for the Brownfields site assessments. Together we have developed a list of all current commercial and/or industrial sites in Town along with a list of vacant commercial and/or industrial sites and a list of sites that have had local, state and/or federal regulatory actions. In order to select the final sites for this program, CDM will compare and refine these lists in order to focus on a final list of sites with the highest environmental assessment needs and the highest potential for cleanup and redevelopment under the EPA’s Brownfields Program. Once the lists have been narrowed to those sites with the highest needs and potential, the Brownfields Committee and project stakeholders will complete a final site ranking process based on criteria developed by CDM.
Site Assessments: CDM will perform up to three Preliminary and Phase I Site Assessments along with two Phase II Comprehensive Site Assessments in accordance with the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP’s) requirements under the Massachusetts Contingency Plan (MCP) and in accordance with the EPA protocols for Brownfields Programs. Consistent with these requirements, CDM will develop a formal quality assurance project plan or QAPP, to govern the procedures used during the site assessment activities (i.e. monitoring well installation, sample collection and analysis, data quality objectives and validation protocols, and a data management plan). In addition, the QAPP will outline the requirements for notifying the Town, affected property owners and DEP/EPA as to the nature and extent of contamination discovered during the site assessment process. As CDM completes the site assessment activities, each site moves closer to remediation and redevelopment.
Remedial Action Plan: In response to the site conditions identified during the site assessment process, CDM will prepare a Remedial Action Plan for each site. The intent of this activity is to develop site specific documents that can be utilized by site owners, potential developers and financial institutions to evaluate the remedial requirements and costs for these Brownfields sites. These plans will also incorporate the input of the community so that potential redevelopment alternatives have the local support necessary for successful implementation.
Community Involvement and Redevelopment Plan: CDM has developed a Community Involvement plan that details the public education materials and public meetings required to implement and successfully complete the Town’s Brownfields Grant Program. The intent of this community involvement plan is to explain to the nature and issues associated with Brownfields sites in general, to educate the community about the current environmental conditions and potential for redevelopment of the brownfields sites included in this program and to continually solicit local input throughout the process. The final goal of this activity will be to create a redevelopment plan that has the support of the local community and the highest potential for success.
EPA Reports: CDM will prepare quarterly reports for submittal to EPA as required under the Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot Program. These reports will document the activities completed each quarter, the progress of the project as a whole and the activities planned for the completion during the following quarter. At the completion of the Brownfields Assessment Program, CDM will also prepare and submit to EPA a final report documenting the status of each site in the assessment and redevelopment process.
Project Schedule
