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  Brownfields  2006

  Grant  Fact Sheet

  Northwest Regional

             Planning

         Commission,

   Northwest  Vermont


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 Northwest Regional Planning Commission was
selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant.
Bordered by New York and Canada, the Northwest
Region of Vermont is comprised of the 23 communi-
ties in Franklin and Grande Isle Counties (total
population 52,318). The region has historically served
as a gateway to New England and as a major transpor-
tation corridor for commercial traffic. Its location
made it ideal for the development of steamboat
  Assessment Grant
  $200,000 for petroleum

  EPA has selected the Northwest Regional Plan-
  ning Commission for a brownfields assessment
  grant. Petroleum grant funds will be used to
  conduct outreach and educational activities,
  develop a prioritized inventory of sites, perform
  three to four Phase I and two to three Phase II
  environmental site assessments, and develop
  cleanup plans for one or two sites in Franklin and
  Grande Isle Counties.
  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: Northwest Regional Planning
  Commission, VT
  802-524-5958

  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
  yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
  in this fact sheet are subject to change.
landings and shipping ports in the early 1800s, followed
by railroads in the 1850s, and roads in the 1900s. The
common denominator for the variety of brownfields
sites in the region, from service stations, to bulk storage
facilities, former military properties, and municipal
garages, is the link to the developmental history of the
region's transportation system. Franklin County, home
to 86 percent of the region's residents, has a higher
poverty rate than the state. In some area municipalities
unemployment is greater than 10 percent. Given the
rural agrarian nature of the region, communities rely on
a small tax base to fund schools and local services.
Assessment and eventual cleanup of the region's
                                               Solid Waste and
                                               Emergency Response
                                               (5105T)
                        EPA 560-F-06-030
                        May 2006
                        www.epa.gov/brownfields

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brownfields properties will help increase the tax base.
protect wetlands, and preserve agricultural lands.
Redevelopment is expected to erase the neglected
image projected by the brownfields properties, assist
with business recruitment efforts, and add incentives
that encourage residents to live in the region's down-
town and village environments.

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