The Regional Economic Development Center (REDC) was recently awarded $300,000 in supplemental funding for the REDC Brownfields fund from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for the purpose of cleanup of hazardous substances and community revitalization as outlined by the Brownfields program. This supplemental funding is to replenish some of what was spent in prior Brownfields projects, such as the Railroad Land Redevelopment Project in Keene, Zach’s Field project in Hudson, and the Cotton Mill Square project in Nashua. REDC has been administering its Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund since 2010.
This grant is made possible through the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfield’s Revitalization Act of 2001, whereby the EPA is working to help states and communities around the country clean up and revitalize Brownfield sites.
In New Hampshire, Brownfield sites are typically contaminated properties located in town and village centers that have suffered due to early industrial history, which included textile, woolen, and wooden product manufacturing mills in the 19th and early 20th centuries. As a result of the contamination left behind by these industries, the Brownfield sites are often underutilized or abandoned, taking a significant economic, environmental, and social toll on the local communities. The purpose of the grant is to restore the sites to productive reuse and to revitalize the communities.