LYNN — The city will receive a $500,000 Community-wide Brownfield Assessment Grant as part of funding announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“Receiving this Brownfields Assessment Grant is a significant milestone in our current efforts to revitalize areas in our community that have been unsafe and contaminated for far too long,” Mayor Jared Nicholson said.
The federal government defines brownfields as “abandoned, idled, or underused industrial and commercial properties where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination,” according to the Environmental Law Institute’s website.
The $500,000 is part of a $300 million allocation provided as part of the Biden-Harris administration’s Investing in America agenda.
The presidential administration is “investing in states, tribal nations, local governments, and nonprofit organizations to assess and clean up polluted brownfield sites across the country,” according to a press release from Nicholson’s office.
The investments will revitalize properties that were once polluted, vacant, or abandoned and help create jobs, according to the release.
Nicholson said the funding will allow an assessment of land contamination in the city and an opportunity to address future development and economic opportunities.
Congressman Seth Moulton said, “No community should have to be saddled with toxic pollutants that threaten public health. It’s great news that Lynn, Salem, and the Merrimack Valley Planning Commissioner are among the recipient of these EPA cleanup and assessment grants. Massachusetts cannot thrive unless its cities and towns are healthy. This is a top priority, and I look forward to working with the EPA on delivering these grants and other critical funding in the future.”
The grant money will be allocated throughout the city but with a focus on contaminated properties on the waterfront and in downtown areas, according to Associate Planning Director Lauren Drago.
“We want to turn vacant, contaminated sites into assets for our community, and these funds will be a big help in making that work possible,” Drago said.
“We have a great team here in Lynn and I know these assessment funds will translate into more wins for the city in the future,” Economic Development and Industrial Corporation of Lynn Executive Director Jim Cowdell said.
EDIC/Lynn and the city are currently working together to implement a $500,000 Brownfields Cleanup Grant awarded by the EPA in 2023 to remediate the Whyte’s Laundromat property in downtown Lynn, according to the release.
