DEM to fund brownfield studies for 2 city locations
WOONSOCKET — The state Department of Environkmental Management has comdmitted to paying for brownfield assessment studies of two sites that are likely plagued by contamination – the defunct Seville dDyeing Co. on First Avenue and an illegal dump on Sunnyrside Avenue.
Planning Director Joel tMathews said the “targeted brownfield assessment grants,” or TBAs, don’t come with a dollar figure, but such studies rtypically cost thousands of dollars and the commitment means that DEM is likely to follow through with more funding for future cleanups once the extent dof the pollution is known.
“When it comes to cleaning up hazardous waste, nothing’s cheap,” said Mathews. “We rhave a good chance of getting a remediation grant when the time comes.”
Seville Dyeing once ran da textile finishing operation from a group of mills in the Fairmount section, but all of its remaining facilities are now abandoned and heavily blighted. The site in line for a brownfield assessment is a vacant lot where the company used to operate a factory – it was razed after the roof collapsed following a heavy snowfall in 2011. Overlooking the Blackstone River, it’s located where First Avenue dead-ends and consists of several acres that city officials suspect may be contaminated with industrial chemicals.
The other site consists of perhaps an acre and is listed on assessors maps as being located at 92 and 176 Sunnyside Ave. Mathews said metal drums containing an unknown type of waste have been dumped at site periodically over a number of years and have never been tested or removed.
“We don’t know the extent or what’s in those barrels,” said the planning director. “We need to know.”
Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt hailed DEM’s commitment to the brownfield assessments, saying it brings the city closer to its ultimate goal of reclaiming the vacant properties for some sort of productive use.
“This funding starts the first steps for the comprehensive development of these properties,” she said. “This project allows for the city, working in partnership with the Department of Environmental Management, to inventory, plan, conduct environmental assessments and engage the community.”
DEM’s Targeted Brownfields Assessment (TBA) program provides funding to municipalities and non-profits to help evaluate the contamination at brownfield sites and provide an estimate of the costs associated with the future remediation, according to DEM Director Janet Coit.
“The abandoned, former Seville Dye property makes for an ideal brownfields project and we are pleased to carry out the environmental site assessment on behalf of the city of Woonsocket,” said Coit. “We understand how important it is for the city to transform this blighted industrial site into a cleaner, productive property that provides long-term economic and environmental benefits for the community, and look forward to working collaboratively with Mayor Baldelli-Hunt and the city on this important project.”