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Brownfields 2005
Grant Fact Sheet
Kennebec Valley
Council of
Governments, ME
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, President George
W. Bush 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. Addi-
tionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal
response programs through a separate mechanism.
Community Description
The Kennebec Valley Council of Governments
(KVCOG) was selected to receive a brownfields
assessment grant. The KVCOG serves 176,620 people
in 68 municipalities in Kennebec, Somerset, and
western Waldo Counties. The disused mills and
manufacturing operations that characterize the region's
many unremediated brownfields sites are a legacy of
the region's economic history. The state has identified
49 potential brownfields in the region, which is suffer-
ing from job losses, underemployment, and rising
poverty. Since January 2001, central Maine has lost
2,700 comparatively high-paying manufacturing jobs.
Assessment Grant (20051
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Kennebec Valley Council of
Governments for a brownfields assessment grant.
Grant funds will be used to review the state's list
of brownfields sites in the region, educate munici-
palities and residents about the Council's
brownfields initiative, solicit information on
additional brownfields for the inventory, develop
site selection criteria, conduct Phase I site
assessments on up to six sites, select up to three
sites for Phase II assessments, and identify
possible reuse options for selected sites.
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: Kennebec Valley Council of
Governments, ME
207-453-4258, ext. 22
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
in this fact sheet are subject to change.
The unemployment rate in Somerset County alone has
reached 8.9 percent, and overall unemployment in the
region is higher than the state average. Poverty rates in
the region range from 11.1 to 17 percent. The
brownfields scattered along the river valleys, particu-
larly those in and near the urban areas, are obstructing
the economic revitalization of this depressed region.
The KVCOG's plan to initiate brownfields identifica-
tion and assessment will rekindle hope in the ability of
the region to clean up contaminated brownfields, and
restore new economic opportunities.
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA 560-F-05-023
May 2005
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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