Project Information
	Contact: Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Northeast Regional Office northeast@railstotrails.org 717.238.1717

Understanding Environmental Contaminants:
Lessons Learned and Guidance to Keep Your Rail-Trail Project on Track
Year: 2004

Prepared for:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Partners:
MassBike Coalition; Brown and Green, Ltd.; Nangle and Associates

Project Deliverables:
National resource guide on contamination along rail corridors, including national survey of railtrails and case studies. Read the report here.

Project Description:
Communities wishing to convert rail corridors into multiuse paths sometimes find themselves in the difficult position of dealing with known, potential or perceived contamination along a railbed. Rails-to- Trails Conservancy created this report to assist communities in utilizing new and existing brownfield programs to understand and address environmental clean-up issues that may inhibit the conversion of unused rail corridors into multi-use trails. The objective was to address brownfield concerns by researching appropriate legal, funding and construction issues related to rail-to-trail conversion and suggesting successful strategies. The research team conducted a survey of trail managers to report the incidence of contamination and any remediation efforts. Case studies were chosen to analyze how other communities have addressed these issues.