30 O ^ o Brownfields 2005 Grant Fact Sheet Burlington, 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, 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 City of Burlington was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. Burlington (population 39,815), one of the poorest cities in Vermont, is a federally designated Renewal Community. Burlington has historically been the region's commercial growth center, relying on lumber processing, energy produc- tion, manufacturing, milling, and other industrial activi- ties. Today, there is widespread groundwater contami- nation in the Old North End, Pine Street Corridor, the waterfront, and other downtown areas that are the locations of many of the city's brownfields sites. Decades of disinvestment have contributed to the economic and social conditions in these areas. Fifty- seven percent of city residents have low or moderate Assessment Grant ( $200,000 for hazardous substances EPA has selected the City of Burlington for a brownfields assessment grant. Grant funds will be used to conduct Phase I and II environmental site assessments at brownfields around the city, concentrating on the Old North End, Pine Street Corridor, the waterfront, and downtown neighbor- hoods. 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: City of Burlington, VT 802-865-7144 The cooperative agreement for this grant has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change. incomes. The median household income is 69 percent of that of the state. Within the Old North End neighbor- hoods, 60 percent of female-headed households live in poverty. With a dwindling supply of developable land in the city, infill and brownfields development is neces- sary. Assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment of these sites will help boost the local and regional economies and build on the city's track record of rehabilitating commercial, residential, and greenspace on former brownfields sites. Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA 560-F-05-028 May 2005 www.epa.gov/brownfields ------- |