Changing Our Future, One Good Idea at a Time

The Center For Community Capital is a program of Eastern Maine Development Corporation (EMDC) that was created to support project, grants, and funds developme nt activities for EMDC and Mobilize Eastern Maine (a private/public collaboration of partners workin g to support ec onomic development and revitalization of this region).

The Center has assumed a critical role as one of the primary “conveners” in this region, bringing various organizations together in a collaborative effort to seek grant funds. The Center will continue to convene organizations around new projects that have the potential to positively impact the health and well-being of citizens in Eastern Maine.

News from The Center...

(Boston, Mass. – June 4, 2013) – EPA is providing $3.8 million in Brownfields grants to help Maine communities to assess, cleanup and redevelop abandoned or contaminated properties.  The funding is part of more than $62 million in EPA brownfields investments across the region announced by EPA to protect health and the environment, create jobs and promote economic re-development in American communities.

The grant money can assist work to reclaim sites including old textile mills, sites containing hazardous substances and petroleum products and other abandoned industrial and commercial properties.  EPA’s Brownfields program encourages redevelopment of America’s estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated waste sites.

In Maine this year, EPA is providing Brownfields grants to the following municipalities and groups:

• City of Belfast, $200,000 (community-wide assessment grant)
• City of Biddeford, $200,000 (cleanup grant)
• Brewer Redevelopment, LLC, $200,000 (2 cleanup grants)
• Eastern Maine Development Corp., $400,000 (2 community-wide assessment grants)
• City of Gardiner, $400,000 (2 community-wide assessment grants)
• Greater Portland Council of Governments, $800,000 (community-wide Revolving Loan Fund grant)
• Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission, $400,000 (2 community-wide assessment grants)
• Midcoast Economic Dev. District, $400,000 (2 community-wide assessment grants)
• Passamaquoddy Tribe, $200,000 (community-wide assessment grant)
• Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission, $400,000 (2 community-wide assessment grants)

“The first step in restoring and redeveloping polluted properties is cleaning them up, and these EPA Brownfields grants will help do just that," said EPA Regional Administrator Curt Spalding.

“Maine has consistently received higher amounts than many other states because we have an excellent staff that work tirelessly with potential recipients and help with applications, forms, and overall information,” said Maine DEP Commissioner Patty Aho.  Assessing and cleaning up the 2,000 Brownfields sites in Maine remains a top priority for Commissioner Aho and DEP.  "My vision for the Department recognizes that a healthy environment translates to a healthy economy,” Aho said. 

In New England, since the beginning of the Brownfields program, EPA has awarded 295 assessment grants totaling $84.1 million, 63 revolving loan fund grants and supplemental funding totaling $77.5 million and 199 cleanup grants totaling $53.9 million. These grant funds have paved the way for more than $1.6 billion in public and private cleanup and redevelopment investment and for over 12,000 jobs in assessment, cleanup, construction and redevelopment. These investments and jobs target local, under-served and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods – places where environmental cleanups and new jobs are most needed.

More Information:

EPA Brownfields program in New England: http://epa.gov/region1/brownfields/index.html