For Release: November 13, 1998

Contact: Bob Ballou 222-4700 ext. 4420

PROVIDENCE - DEM Director Andy McLeod joined Providence Mayor Vincent Cianci, EPA Region I Administrator John DeVillars, and Woonasquatucket River Greenway Project Director Jane Sherman at a ceremony today marking the start of a major phase in the restoration of the Lincoln Lace & Braid site on Ponagansett Avenue in Providence.

The site is an abandoned and contaminated former mill site, which was destroyed by fire in 1994. Over the past several years, the site has been little more than a nuisance, attracting illegal dumpers and drug users and creating dangerous places for local children to play.

Today, the prospects for the once neglected site are much brighter. Thanks to the vision set forth by the Woonasquatucket River Greenway Project and the leadership and support provided by the City of Providence, DEM, and the EPA, the Lincoln Lace & Braid site is in the process of being cleaned-up and returned to the community as an integral part of a broad-based urban renewal initiative.

"DEM is exceptionally pleased to serve as a key partner in this innovative, environmentally oriented urban revitalization effort," said DEM Director Andy McLeod. "Today, I am pleased to announce that, with $300,000 in funding from DEM's Oil Spill Restoration Fund, work is commencing on a major environmental clean-up of this site. This work involves the removal and remediation of contaminated soil and piping associated with the former mill building and underground tanks at the site. We expect to complete this phase of the clean-up within about a month. With continuing support from the EPA, DEM will then turn its attention to the other two areas of environmental concern at the site -- the abandoned landfill and the former sluiceway. Once these three primary areas of concern have been addressed, the site will be ready for reuse by the City as a neighborhood amenity."

DEM's clean-up comes on the heels of actions already taken by the City of Providence. At the direction of Mayor Cianci, the City of Providence has demolished and removed the burned-out mill buildings, removed tons of solid waste that had been illegally dumped at the site, and secured the site with fencing. The City is in the final stages of acquiring the site through the foreclosure of tax title.

"Our commitment to this site is part of a much larger $7.3 million commitment being made by the City to revitalize the neighborhoods along the Woonasquatucket River," said Mayor Vincent Cianci. "The transformation occurring here today, and along the entire stretch of the river corridor, reflects the very positive changes that are happening throughout the City of Providence."

Brownfield restoration projects, such as the one underway at the Lincoln Lace & Briad site, are a key component of urban renewal strategies. Brownfields are typically abandoned or underutilized industrial or commercial properties, often former mills or factories, where reuse is complicated by contamination and sometimes the absence of a responsible party. The clean-up costs of the properties often exceed their value, underscoring the need for public assistance. DEM helps to facilitate the beneficial reuse of these properties by defining the scope of the clean-up requirements and then absolving prospective purchasers from future liability.

Funding from EPA's Region I office has enabled DEM to focus its brownfields program on sites along the Woonasquatucket River. DEM received a $200,000 Brownfields Demonstration Pilot Project grant from the EPA Region I in 1996, which was matched with $210,000 in state money. DEM, in collaboration with the City of Providence and the Woonasquatucket River Greenway Project, utilized the funds to identify candidate sites and conduct environmental assessments at selected high priority sites. The two sites that emerged from this identification and assessment process were the Riverside Mills site and the Lincoln Lace & Braid site.

In March of this year, the EPA approved Rhode Island's application to be designated as a Brownfields Showcase Community -- one of only 16 such designations in the country out of 40 applicants. The designation qualifies the State to receive significant federal assistance from a host of federal agencies in addressing the State's brownfields properties. As part of a pledge of $1.8 million in redevelopment funds and technical assistance to be provided to Rhode island pursuant to the Showcase designation, the EPA has already allocated $200,000 to support an EPA staff person, responsible for coordinating brownfields projects within the City's Department of Planning and Development, and an additional $200,000 to support public education and outreach efforts on the part of the Woonasquatucket River Greenway Project and the additional remedial design work to be undertaken by DEM at the Lincoln Lace & Braid site.

EPA Region I Administrator John DeVillars said: "The Lincoln lace & Braid project is another example of why Rhode Island is in the forefront of the effort to restore urban brownfields to useful productive uses. All over the state, we're seeing success stories like this one, some creating jobs, others restoring the landscape and improving the quality of life of Rhode Island residents. Governor Almond, Director McLeod, Mayor Cianci, and Jane Sherman all deserve credit for pushing these initiatives forward, and I'm proud that the EPA has been able to work with them to help fund this and other projects."

The identification of the two sites along the Woonasquatucket, as well as the plans for their future reuse, has been guided by local input. "The neighborhood residents are beginning to reclaim the river and its adjacent lands as assets for improving their quality of life," said Jane Sherman, Director of the Woonasquatucket River Greenway Project. "Today's kick-off event signals yet another important step toward meeting the needs of the community, as defined by the community."