SANFORD – A former textile mill and other brownfield sites in York and southern Oxford counties are poised to get federal money that could lead to a cleaner environment nearby and a complete redevelopment.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has now given the Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission and Sanford each $200,000 this year to find out which brownfield sites are the most economically viable for redevelopment.

Tim Wright, a hazardous waste specialist with the state Department of Environmental Protection, said the extent of pollution around most old mills is unknown because the cost to study each site can be prohibitive.

And pollution at the Goodall Mill site in Sanford has long been a stumbling block to

the redevelopment of the massive Victorian-era complex.

“There are environmental issues in the lower part of the mill yard that the Department of Environmental Protection has been monitoring for some time and hasn’t written off on,” said Richard Stanley, president of the Sanford Springvale Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development.

The state environmental department has monitored areas of the mill complex since a sulfuric acid spill in the early 1990s at International Woolen Co. Inc.

Chris Evans, a state environmental specialist, said testing uncovered oil discharges, discarded fluorescent lights containing PCBs, heavy metals in discharge water and solvents in the groundwater at the former International Woolen site.

“There were a wide range of concerns largely related to the fact that there is nearly 100 years of industry there,” he said.

More than 5 tons of contaminated material have since been removed from the property and the cleanup is slowly moving toward completion.

Mark Hyland, director of the division of remediation at the state environmental department, said the assessment grants have resulted in a number of successful redevelopments across the state.

A number of communities outside of York County have received grants this year, including $750,000 in Brunswick and $200,000 in both Westbrook and Portland.

In Old Town, a $20,000 EPA assessment of the former Lily-Tulip property showed much lower levels of PCB contamination than suspected and the city worked with two previous owners to mitigate the cost of a cleanup.

The site is now home to a park and two businesses.

In Sanford, town officials have already hired engineers to determine the extent of any pollution found on properties that seem most feasible to redevelop.

James Gulnac, Sanford town planner, is helping to develop and prioritize an inventory of properties that would make good candidates for the money.

The town will only work with willing property owners, Gulnac said.

The Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission is looking for help from the 39 York and Oxford county communities it works with to identify potential sites.

Paul Schumacher, the planning commission’s executive director, said reusing empty mill space can revitalize downtowns and discourage sprawl.

Schumacher said the properties qualifying for the grants do not have to be huge hazardous waste sites. They may be a corner lot where a garage once stood or a field potentially contaminated by fertilizers or pesticides.