COLRAIN — If the Selectboard’s application is successful, some of the funding from a nearly $1.5 million Barnhardt Manufacturing Co. settlement in 2019 following a sulfuric spill could potentially help the town explore removal of a lower reservoir dam.

In September 2019, the now-closed cotton bleaching company spilled dozens of gallons of sulfuric into the North River, killing 270,000 fish, including rare species, and damaging more than 14 acres of protected wetland resource areas and 12 acres of designated habitat for two state-listed rare species: longnose suckers and the Ocellated Darner dragonfly.

The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office said the North Carolina-based company violated numerous environmental laws and regulations, and reached a settlement of $1.5 million with the company.

Of those funds, $292,000 went to the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife for fisheries and rare species restoration, $300,000 went to the town of Colrain for culvert improvements and $360,000 was set aside to fund environmental restoration projects.

Now, five years after the sulfuric spill, $225,000 of those settlement funds are available through a restoration grant offered by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) and its Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Program.

The program was established in 1998 to fund restoration projects across the state using settlement money, and has since helped fund dozens of projects totaling more than $80 million.

The grant program is now accepting applications for projects that benefit the Deerfield River and North River watersheds.

“Proposed restoration projects must restore coldwater fisheries, aquatic life, sediment-dwelling organisms, and their supporting habitats in the Deerfield River and North River watersheds” MassDEP said in the grant announcement.

Applications can only be submitted by public entities such as state, county and municipal governments and school districts. Colrain intends to apply for $75,000 to explore the feasibility of removing the lower reservoir dam, located along East Brook near Greenfield Road.

“By restoring the natural [passage] of the water, it creates better water health and habitats,” Town Administrator Diana Parsons told the Selectboard this week.

Parsons said the Deerfield River Watershed Association has been exploring the removal of the dam for years, and would like the town’s assistance in acquiring this grant to pursue a feasibility study.

The association has previously received grant funding for feasibility studies that considered whether removal of the dam would be beneficial, and wants to move forward with potential designs and planning for removal.

“I think they’re thinking removing the dam would allow the river to be reinvigorated with species of fish that were destroyed during that period of time,” Parsons said.

The grant would not fund the removal of the dam, which Parsons estimated would cost millions, but would provide the town with information on what steps would be required.

Parsons said before the town pursues removal, it should also explore whether the dam may have any use for commercial endeavors.

While the Selectboard was unsure if there’s any reason to keep the dam, members agreed that more information is always beneficial and agreed to proceed with putting together a grant application.

Grant applications are due to MassDEP on Nov. 15. Awardees will be announced in February 2024.

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.