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Brownfields 2004
Grant Fact Sheet
Bennington
County Regional
Commission, VT
EPA Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders in economic development
to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up,
and sustainably reuse brownfields. Abrownfield site is
real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse
of which may be complicated by the presence or
potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant,
or contaminant. On January 11, 2002, the President
signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and
Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields
Law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible
applicants through four competitive grant programs:
assessment grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup
grants, and job training grants. Additionally, funding
support is provided to state and tribal response pro-
grams through a separate mechanism.
Community Description
The Bennington County Regional Commission was
selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant.
Primarily a rural area, the region has a population of
35,387. The area has the highest poverty rate in
Vermont (11.1 percent), and the poverty rate for
children under five is nearly 27 percent. With the loss
of the manufacturing sector in the county, the region's
workforce has suffered significant declines in higher-
paying manufacturing jobs. Between 1981 and 2000,
the total private sector workforce declined by almost
24 percent. At the same time, the under-40 population
has declined by more than 12 percent. Many of the
Assessment Grant
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the Bennington County Regional
Commission for a brownfields assessment grant.
Grant funds will be used to identify potential
brownfield sites throughout southwestern Vermont.
The information will be added to an existing
geographic information system for subsequent
tracking. Once identified, a select number of
properties will undergo Phase I site assessments,
and a smaller subset will undergo Phase II site
assessments. A portion of the grant will be used to
support a regional steering committee to coordinate
among the various municipalities and communities.
Contacts
For further information, including specific grant
contacts, additional grant information, brownfields
news and events, and publications and links, visit
the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/
brownfields.
EPA Region 1 Brownfields Team
617-918-1221
http://www.epa.gov/region01/brownfields/
Grant Recipient: Bennington County Regional
Commission, VT
802-375-2576
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
in this fact sheet are subject to change.
remaining service jobs are related to the seasonal
tourism industry. Assessment and cleanup of the
brownfields sites will remove the potential hazards and
stigma attached to the properties that are inhibiting
redevelopment.
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA560-F-04-107
June 2004
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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