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  Brownfields  2006

  Grant Fact  Sheet

         Northeastern

              Vermont

         Development

          Association


EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers  states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders 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 Northeastern Vermont Development Association
(NVDA) was selected to receive a brownfields assess-
ment grant. The NVDA serves the Counties of
Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans (total population
62,438) located east of the Green Mountains of
Vermont, west of the White Mountains  of New Hamp-
shire, and along the Canadian Border and Connecticut
River. Industries  and businesses of the region ben-
efited from the area's proximity to major regional
  Assessment Grant
  $200,000 for petroleum

  EPA has selected the Northeastern Vermont
  Development Association for a brownfields
  assessment grant. Petroleum grant funds will be
  used to develop a prioritized database, conduct
  community outreach activities, perform six or
  more Phase I and three or four Phase II
  environmental site assessments, and conduct one
  extended Phase III assessment at sites around the
  three counties served by the Association.
  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
  617-918-1424
  http://www.epa.gov/region01/brownfields/

  Grant Recipient: Northeastern Vermont
  Development Association, VT
  802-748-5181

  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
  yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
  in this fact sheet are subject to change.
shipping routes and natural resources. Today, many of
the region's brownfields sites are located along these
major shipping routes and within the historic down-
towns and village centers. Most of the hazardous
properties are the result of chemical agents used by
industries, including drycleaning, electroplating, metal
fabrication, plastics and wood operations, and legal and
illegal dumping. The poverty rates in these counties are
the highest in the state. Average wages for those who are
employed in the region's highest paying industry sector,
manufacturing, are 30 percent lower than the state
average in that sector. Brownfields pose potential threats
to the health of area residents and to its rivers and
                                                Solid Waste and
                                                Emergency Response
                                                (5105T)
                         EPA 560-F-06-029
                         May 2006
                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

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waterways. Redevelopment of the properties is ex-
pected to help facilitate economic development and job
creation, return these brownfields to the tax rolls, and
conserve greenspace or provide additional recreational
opportunities.

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