Massachusetts Resources
MA Brownfield Programs
MassDEP Brownfields Program Main Page
State Funding Program: MA does not currently have a state brownfield funding program.
Liability Relief Program: The Brownfields Act established statutory liability relief in MGL Chapter 21E for certain parties undertaking Brownfields projects.
The brownfield program in MA is currently managed regionally. The regional offices by community can be found here, and the respective brownfield contacts are listed in the table below.
Partners in Network
State contact information & Roundtable resource
The Massachusetts Brownfields Program works closely with other state agencies federal and local government partners, non-profits, and the private sector to assist in the assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment of these properties. MassDEP provides funding opportunities and technical assistance, maintains a brownfields inventory, and conducts outreach and community engagement.
| Organization | Name | Contact | Roundtable resource |
| MassDEP | Abby Anderson | abigail.e.anderson@mass.gov | |
| MassDEP | Ash Desmond | Ash.Desmond@mass.gov | |
| MassDEP | David Foss | David.Foss@Mass.Gov |
Regional offices help with regulatory issues, permit applications and local environmental concerns. They also provide access to environmental files for the public to review by appointment.
| Organization | Name | Contact | Roundtable resource |
| Northeast Regional Office, Woburn | Joanne Fagan | joanne.fagan@state.ma.us | ME Northeast Roundtable.pdf |
| Southeast Regional Office, Lakeville | Angela Gallagher | angela.gallagher@state.ma.us | |
| Central Regional Office, Worcester | Amy Sullivan, Mark Baldi | mark.baldi@state.ma.us amy.sullivan@state.ma.us |
ME Central Region Roundtable.pdf |
| Western Regional Office, Springfield | Saadi Motamedi | saadi.motamedi@state.ma.us |
Regional contact information & Roundtable resource
Council of Governments (COG) serves as a regional coordinator and facilitator, helping multiple local governments work together on assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment of brownfield sites. COGs often manage or support EPA brownfields grants, provide technical assistance, share data and best practices, and align brownfield projects with regional planning, transportation, housing, and economic development goals.
| Organization | Name | Contact | Roundtable resource |
| Berkshire Regional Planning Commission | Melissa Provencher | mprovencher@berkshireplanning.org | |
| Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (Mpo) | Tegin Teich | tteich@ctps.org | |
| Cape Cod Commission | Kristy Senatori | ksenatori@capecodcommission.org | |
| Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission | Janet Pierce | jpierce@cmrpc.org | |
| Franklin Regional Council Of Governments | Jessica Atwood | jatwood@frcog.org | |
| Martha's Vineyard Commission | Adam Turner | turner@mvcommission.org | |
| Merrimack Valley Planning Commission | Cecelia Gerstenbacher | CGerstenbacher@mvpc.org | |
| Metropolitan Area Planning Council | Martin Pillsbury | mpillsbury@mapc.org | |
| Montachusett Regional Planning Commission | Glenn Eaton | geaton@mrpc.org | |
| Nantucket Planning And Economic Development Commission | Mary Longacre | ||
| Northern Middlesex Council Of Governments | Daniela Garcia-Moreno | dgarciamoreno@nmcog.org | |
| Pioneer Valley Planning Commission | Erica Johnson | ejohnson@pvpc.org | |
| Old Colony Planning Council | Nick Giaquinto | ngiaquinto@ocpcrpa.org | |
| Southeastern Regional Planning And Economic Development District | Jeffrey Walker | jwalker@srpedd.org |
Where can I find environmental standards and contaminated site information?
Statewide Brownfields Inventory
Source: Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP)
Provides a statewide list of Brownfields properties in Massachusetts in Excel format, along with mapping resources. MassDEP notes that the inventory is not comprehensive because Brownfields properties are not required to self-identify or register with the Department. Useful for identifying known Brownfields sites and documenting prior environmental conditions for EPA Brownfields applications.
🔗 Click to seeMassachusetts Contingency Plan (MCP)
Source: Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP)
Establishes Massachusetts' regulatory requirements for notification, assessment, and cleanup of oil and hazardous-material releases. The MCP is the primary regulatory framework for contaminated-site investigation and remediation in Massachusetts and is important for understanding the regulatory context of Brownfields assessment and cleanup projects.
🔗 Click to seeWaste Site Cleanup Laws & Regulations
Source: Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP)
Provides a broader collection of Massachusetts laws, regulations, and guidance related to contaminated properties and waste-site cleanup. Includes the Massachusetts Contingency Plan, Chapter 21E, the Massachusetts Brownfields Act, analytical methods, and related cleanup requirements. Useful for understanding the regulatory framework surrounding Brownfields projects.
🔗 Click to seeWhere can I find land-use plans and regional planning resources?
Massachusetts Master Plans
Source: Massachusetts Municipalities / Local Planning Boards
Massachusetts General Law Chapter 41, Section 81D establishes the framework for municipal Master Plans covering areas such as land use, housing, economic development, natural resources, open space, transportation, services, and implementation. Individual plans are generally maintained by municipalities or regional planning agencies rather than in a single statewide repository. Master Plans can help demonstrate that a proposed Brownfields project supports established community redevelopment and planning priorities.
🔗 Click to seeMassachusetts Regional Planning Agencies
Source: Massachusetts Regional Planning Agencies
Massachusetts has 13 regional planning agencies that provide planning, technical assistance, data, and community-development support to municipalities. Regional planning agencies can be useful partners in Brownfields applications by providing regional demographic, economic, land-use, and planning information and helping connect Brownfields redevelopment to broader regional priorities.
🔗 Click to seeWhere can I find GIS, geographic, and regional data?
MassGIS
Source: Massachusetts Bureau of Geographic Information (MassGIS)
Massachusetts' primary statewide GIS resource, providing interactive maps, geographic datasets, descriptive information, and web services. Useful for mapping Brownfields sites and analyzing surrounding land use, transportation, environmental conditions, demographics, infrastructure, and other geographic factors relevant to Brownfields planning and grant applications.
🔗 Click to seeWhere can I find general public health and socioeconomic data?
Massachusetts State Data Center
Source: UMass Donahue Institute / Massachusetts State Data Center
Serves as the official local source for demographic, economic, and social statistics produced by the U.S. Census Bureau for Massachusetts. Provides access to Census data and related Massachusetts socioeconomic information that can help document population characteristics, economic conditions, and community needs in EPA Brownfields Grant applications.
🔗 Click to seeMassachusetts Population Health Statistics
Source: Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH)
Compiles and presents population health information from Massachusetts DPH programs, bureaus, and external data sources. Useful for identifying health trends, disparities, and community health conditions that can support the public-health and environmental-justice components of a Brownfields application.
🔗 Click to seeState and National Health & Socioeconomic Grant Data
Source: University of Connecticut Technical Assistance to Brownfields Communities (TAB) Program
Provides state and national socioeconomic and health data that can be used to establish community conditions and provide comparison benchmarks for EPA Brownfields Grant applications.
🔗 Click to seeWhere can I find environmental public health data?
Massachusetts Environmental Public Health Tracking Network
Source: Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH)
Provides maps, tables, and other environmental and health data for Massachusetts communities. The network includes health indicators such as asthma, cancer, childhood lead poisoning, and birth defects, as well as environmental indicators. Community profiles and geographic data can be useful for documenting health conditions and vulnerable populations in Brownfields applications.
🔗 Click to seeCDC National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network
Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Provides nationally comparable environmental and health data that can be explored by geographic area. Useful for providing broader context and comparison data when documenting community health conditions and potential environmental-health concerns in EPA Brownfields applications.
🔗 Click to seeCDC Environmental Public Health Tracking Data Explorer
Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Interactive mapping and data-analysis tool for exploring environmental and health indicators by geography. The tool can provide census-tract and other geographic information for selected indicators. Cancer measures in the tool should be interpreted carefully because some are modeled estimates rather than actual cancer incidence rates.
🔗 Click to seeNeed help with cancer data and statistics?
U.S. Cancer Statistics
Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) / National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Provides official federal cancer statistics, including cancer incidence and mortality data. The Data Visualizations tool allows users to examine cancer rates, counts, trends, and demographic characteristics at national, state, county, and congressional-district levels. Useful for providing actual cancer-rate comparisons in Brownfields community-health narratives.
🔗 Click to seeMassachusetts Environmental Public Health Tracking – Cancer
Source: Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH)
Provides Massachusetts cancer data, including cancer incidence information by community and census tract. Data are derived from the Massachusetts Cancer Registry and include direct and standardized incidence rates for different cancer types. Useful for examining community-level cancer patterns when developing Brownfields health and environmental-justice narratives.
🔗 Click to seeLooking for specific disease or health condition tracking?
Massachusetts Environmental Public Health Tracking – Athma
Source: Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH)
Provides asthma hospitalization and pediatric asthma data, including maps and tables that can be examined by community and, for pediatric asthma, by school. Useful for documenting community health conditions and vulnerable populations in Brownfields applications.
🔗 Click to seeMassachusetts Environmental Public Health Tracking – Childhood Lead Poisoning
Source: Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH)
Provides community-level childhood blood-lead data and information about lead exposure and prevention. The resource can help identify communities with elevated childhood lead burdens and document vulnerable populations for Brownfields applications. Lead exposure is particularly relevant to older housing and other environments where lead-containing materials may be present.
🔗 Click to see