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  Brownfields  2006

  Grant  Fact Sheet

    Southern  Windsor

      County Regional

             Planning

      Commission,   VT


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 Southern Windsor County Regional Planning
Commission (SWCRPC) was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant. Located in southern
Vermont, the SWCRPC consists of representatives of
its ten member towns in southern Windsor County
(combined population 25,105). In the 19th and early
20th Centuries, the machine tool industry fueled
southern Windsor County's economy. At the end of
World War II, the machine tool industry declined as
  Assessment Grant
  $200,000 for hazardous substances
  EPA has selected the Southern Windsor County
  Regional Planning Commission for a brownfields
  assessment grant. Hazardous substances grant
  funds will be used to identify and prioritize
  brownfields in the region and conduct four Phase
  I, three Phase II, and two Phase III environmental
  site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to
  prepare up to two cleanup plans and conduct
  community outreach activities.
  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: Southern Windsor County
  Regional Planning Commission, VT
  802-674-9201
  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
  yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
  in this fact sheet are subject to change.
competition from overseas manufacturers increased.
Between 1980 and 2000, Windsor County's manufactur-
ing sector lost 42.5 percent of its jobs. The county's
average wage is only 88 percent of the state average.
Plant closings have created almost one million square feet
of empty industrial space in southern Windsor County,
leaving eyesores in many downtown areas. The revital-
ized brownfields will be used for parks, housing, retail
space, and light industrial development. Brownfields
redevelopment will attract new businesses and industries,
providing new jobs, improving the vitality of down-
towns, putting properties back on the tax rolls, and
reducing threats to human health and the environment.
                                               Solid Waste and
                                               Emergency Response
                                               (5105T)
                         EPA 560-F-06-032
                         May 2006
                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

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