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City receives brownfield money

Date: 6/9/2010

June 9, 2010.

By Tom Relihan

Staff Intern

SPRINGFIELD -- The Yankee Oil site located on Dwight Street has been awarded part of a $260,000 federal stimulus fund grant to assess contaminated sites for remediation and removal of contaminated soils and groundwater as part of the Leaking Underground Storage Tank program.

The $160,000 allocated to the site will be more than enough for the project to move forward, Brown Fields Coordinator and Project Manager Samalid Hogan said. The site, which previously housed an oil terminal and auto body repair shop, has been the subject of numerous tests over the past few years and has already had 18 underground storage tanks removed.

The project is expected to include additional monitoring and treatment of soil and groundwater.

There are currently no plans for the redevelopment of the site, but the Office of Planning and Economic Development hopes to utilize the area for residential purposes, she added.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has not established a time line for the remediation, Hogan explained, but the project is expected to take only a few months and should be complete by the end of the year.

"The award of these federal stimulus funds to Springfield is great news for the city," Sen. Stephen J. Buoniconti said. "This project will help clean up what is now a contaminated former industrial site and make it suitable for new economic development."

The remainder of the $260,000 will be distributed to sites in Canton and Taunton.

"I'm very appreciative of Gov. Patrick and Lt. Gov. Murray's ongoing commitment to the City of Springfield," Mayor Domenic Sarno said. "This funding is a critical component in helping the city make this property much more attractive for redevelopment opportunities."