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Resilience and Environmental Stewardship details brownfield work and EPA $1 million grant; monitoring projects, wetlands and vapor‑intrusion site noted
Summary
The city’s Resilience and Environmental Stewardship department briefed councilors May 21 on brownfield redevelopment, an EPA $1 million award to the Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund and upcoming environmental monitoring obligations at Shawmut Avenue, Duchesne Boulevard and Tabor Mills.
Michelle Paul, director of Resilience and Environmental Stewardship, told the City Council on May 21 that the department has trimmed recurring costs while advancing brownfield redevelopment and environmental monitoring projects across New Bedford.
Paul said the department reduced the Shawmut Avenue landfill monitoring budget by 50% over the last decade and pared Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection compliance fees by closing and reallocating brownfields. She cited recent brownfield projects including the Elko Dress site, which went out for an RFP with responsive proposals, and a developer‑led redevelopment of the Duchesne Boulevard property in the business park.
Paul said the city received $1,000,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to replenish the Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund; the fund will provide low‑interest loans with flexible terms for property developers who remediate and reuse brownfield parcels. "We have been working very hard to bring Brownfield sites to productive reuse," she said.
She identified three near‑term monitoring and compliance priorities: reinstating Shawmut Avenue landfill monitoring (not done for a year, which risks noncompliance fines if not completed), completing a five‑year temporary solution evaluation for the Duchesne Boulevard wetland portion, and continuing air‑exchange monitoring at Tabor Mills to ensure no vapor intrusion from the adjacent Payne Cutlery chlorinated solvent site. Paul said the city owns the relevant parcels as an "innocent landowner" via tax title and that the city’s timelines differ from private‑party MassDEP remediation timelines, but the city still must confirm there is no vapor intrusion risk.
Paul also said the department secured funding for an energy advocate through a Community First Partnership program for three years with no city cost, plus five interns to support energy, air quality and litter/recycling programs.
Ending: Councilors asked Paul for clarifications on contractual line items and bid details for monitoring contracts; Paul offered to meet individually with councilors for line‑by‑line reviews.
(Details: Paul gave specific dollar line‑item clarifications during Q&A and said certain monitoring contracts include lab work and indoor air sampling; councilors requested exact vendor/bid numbers and breakdowns.)
