Press Release  Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards Grants to Enhance Public Participation in Cleaning Up Contaminated Sites

BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll Administration today announced that $160,000 in grants have been awarded to four municipalities and four community groups as part of the Technical Assistance Grant Program. The Technical Assistance Grant Program, administered by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), provides funding to enhance citizen participation in assessment and cleanup activities at waste disposal sites in local communities. Awards may be used to obtain expert assistance, increase public participation, and provide public education regarding site cleanup.

“Waste site cleanup projects and environmental mitigation often come with complex plans that communities want to fully understand,” said MassDEP Commissioner Bonnie Heiple. “We’re pleased to make this resource available to inform and empower municipal officials and citizen groups to meaningfully participate in local assessment and cleanup efforts.”

The grant recipients are:

Westfield Residents Advocating for Themselves, Inc. – $20,000
Westfield Residents Advocating for Themselves will use its award to engage technical expertise to review and interpret disposal site documents and information for the Barnes Air National Guard Base to increase public awareness by providing valuable insights into the extent and nature of residents’ health concerns and issues. Contaminants of concern include per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) affecting soil, surface water, and groundwater, and impacting municipal and private drinking water supplies.

Greater Hyannis Civic Association – $20,000
Greater Hyannis Civic Association will use its award to engage technical expertise to review and interpret disposal site documents and information for the Cape Cod Gateway Municipal Airport to encourage transparency in the regulatory process and support expanded community engagement. Contaminants of concern include PFAS affecting both soil, surface water and groundwater, and impacting public and private drinking water supplies.

Lunt Neighborhood Action Group, Inc. – $20,000
Lunt Neighborhood Action Group will use its award to engage technical expertise to evaluate and interpret existing information about the Former Lunt Silversmith Site in Greenfield to encourage better public participation in the ongoing cleanup. The disposal site is a former metal manufacturing facility and contaminants of concern include chlorinated volatile organic compounds that have been detected in soil, groundwater, and indoor air.

Town of Barnstable Department of Public Works – $20,000
Barnstable Department of Public Works will use its award to engage technical expertise to review and evaluate site documents for the Barnstable County Fire Training Academy disposal site to increase public participation by advising town officials and residents on actions necessary to protect public health, welfare and the environment. The site contaminants of concern include PFAS affecting both soil and groundwater.

Town of Carlisle Board of Health – $20,000
Carlisle Board of Health will use its award to obtain technical expertise to review and evaluate environmental data from the former Daisy Gasoline Station disposal site to increase public awareness by advising town officials and residents of the disposal site cleanup activities. Contaminants of concern include petroleum hydrocarbons affecting groundwater and impacting residential drinking water wells.

Town of Westminster – $20,000
Westminster will use its award to engage technical expertise to review and interpret disposal site documents and information for the Bean Porridge Hill Road Area disposal site to increase public awareness by serving as a resource to town officials and the public. Contaminants of concern include PFAS impacting residential drinking water wells.

Duxbury Safe Water Committee, Inc. – $20,000
Duxbury Safe Water Committee, Inc. will use its award to engage technical expertise to review and interpret disposal site documents and information for the Former Duxbury Landfill (McNeil Dump) and the Duxbury Municipal Landfill to increase public awareness and facilitate communication between the public and other stakeholders. Contaminants of concern PFAS and 1,4-dioxane impacting municipal drinking water supplies.

Town of Lee – $20,000
Lee will use its award to engage technical expertise to review and interpret information about the Upland Disposal Facility, an area permitted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for storage of contaminated sediments from the Housatonic River Superfund Site, to provide technical assistance to local officials and outreach to citizens. Contaminants of concern include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), potentially affecting the aquifer.

“Containments of concern such as PFAS pose a serious risk to human health and our environment. Unfortunately, Barnstable, and the Hyannis Water District specifically, have high levels of PFAS,” said State Senator Julian Cyr (D-Truro). “I am thrilled that MassDEP has awarded the Greater Hyannis Civic Association and the Town on Barnstable a grant to invest in the technical assistance needed to clean-up these ‘forever chemicals’ at the Municipal Airport and at the Barnstable Fire Training Academy. These neighborhoods deserve an immediate response, and the support of the state has been essential to the urgent and ongoing clean-up effort.”

“I am heartened that the Lunt Neighborhood Action Group will receive a Technical Assistance Grant to continue its work relative to the former Lunt Silversmith site and encourage increased public participation in the ongoing cleanup,” said State Senator Jo Comerford (D-Northampton). “I am grateful to MassDEP for providing the resources for this important work.”

“I am happy to see the Lunt Neighborhood Action Group receiving this grant so they can continue their work to educate and engage their neighbors and local and state officials,” said State Representative Susannah Whipps (I-Athol). “I’m very grateful to MassDEP for providing this type of grant, which benefits so many communities across the Commonwealth.”

“I am excited to learn of the Town of Barnstable's award of a $20,000 grant that will help bring technical expertise to meticulously review the Barnstable County Fire Training Academy disposal site,” said State Representative Steven Xiarhos (R-Barnstable). “With the site harboring contaminants like PFAS, it's imperative that we address these environmental challenges comprehensively and proactively. I'm confident that this grant will allow the town to continue to ensure the well-being of our community and the preservation of our natural surroundings.”

For more information on the TAG Program, please visit the MassDEP website.

MassDEP’s mission is to protect and enhance the Commonwealth’s natural resources – air, water and land – to provide for the health, safety and welfare of all people, and a clean and safe environment for future generations. In carrying out this mission, MassDEP commits to address and advance environmental justice and equity for all people of the Commonwealth, provide meaningful, inclusive opportunities for people to participate in agency decisions that affect their lives and ensure a diverse workforce that reflects the communities served by the agency.

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