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MANSFIELD - U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, and state and local officials gathered Tuesday to break ground on a hazardous waste cleanup project eyed for years on the Mansfield-Foxboro line.

During the next several months, crews will remove approximately 31,000 yards of contaminated soil over 40 acres at the site of the former Hatheway & Patterson wood treatment plant on County Street.

Frank was able to secure $10 million to $25 million in federal stimulus money to jumpstart the project, which has been on the minds of local and state officials for years.

He said the project is moving forward because members of both political parties and those at different levels of government came together for a common cause.

"This is an example of how bipartisanship and cooperation among the levels of government can have an impact," Frank said. "These are the things we can only do if we all pool our resources." The Environmental Protection Agency has been looking to clean the site since the company abandoned the property in the early 1990s, leaving soil that was heavily contaminated with wood treatment chemicals.

Ira Leighton, the EPA's acting regional administrator, said the agency removed 100,000 gallons of liquid and solid wood treatment wastes in 1993 and another 400 tons of contaminated material in 2002.

The agency has been working with the state and the towns to find a plan to completely clean up the site, Leighton said, and the stimulus money presented the perfect opportunity.

"We have a green light and green money," he said.

Leighton praised Frank for getting the stimulus funding that put the project on the fast track.

"Without that funding, we wouldn't be hitting the accelerator," he said.

At Tuesday's program, Frank and Leighton were joined by state Sen. James Timilty, D-Walpole, and state Rep. Jay Barrows, R-Mansfield, Col. Tom Feir of the Army Corps of Engineers and Gary Moran, deputy commissioner of operations for the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Mansfield Selectmen Jess Aptowitz and George Dentino served as emcees for the program, saying the project has been a long time coming for the town and will be a big boost for the future.

"It's very, very nice to look forward and envision something that will be positive for Mansfield and the state of Massachusetts," Dentino said.

Mansfield owns about 38 acres of the property, and Foxboro owns 1.77 acres. Both towns seized the property for failure to pay taxes. Mansfield plans to use its portion of the site for open space or commercial development, while Foxboro has plans for a 150-space commuter parking lot.

The project is expected to take about 12 months, Leighton said.

MATT KAKLEY covers Mansfield for The Sun Chronicle. He can be reached at 508-236-0333 or at mkakley@thesunchronicle.com.