Valley Falls receives $200G federal grant for abandoned mill

VALLEY FALLS, N.Y. » The village of Valley Falls was among 172 communities across the country selected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to receive funding for brownfield site revitalization to help local governments redevelop vacant and unused properties, transforming communities and local economies. Valley Falls will receive $200,000 to assess hazardous substances at the Old Thompson Mill site at 273 Poplar St. Funds from the grant will be used to inventory, characterize, assess and conduct planning and community outreach for future cleanup. Following the assessment and cleanup, the village’s plans for the site include construction of a waterfront recreational park. The site includes a former textile mill, which was active for more than 100 years before being abandoned in 1992. A major fire in 2009 damaged the remaining buildings.

“EPA is committed to working with communities to redevelop brownfield sites which have plagued their neighborhoods,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt in a news release announcing the grant. “EPA’s Assessment and Cleanup grants target communities that are economically disadvantaged and include places where environmental cleanup and new jobs are most needed. These grants leverage considerable infrastructure and other investments, improving local economies and creating an environment where jobs can grow.”

The village may reuse materials such as bricks and large wooden support beams from the mill in creating the park. Because of the sustainable approach of reusing as many mill materials as possible, the assessment and cleanup phases of the project will directly impact how the future park will be designed and constructed.