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Brownfields 2008
Grant Fact Sheet
Bennington County
Regional
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 this 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. Additionally, funding support is
provided to state and tribal response programs through
a separate mechanism.
Community Description
The Bennington County Regional Commission was
selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant.
Located in rural southwestern Vermont, Bennington
County (population 35,387) is made up of 17 munici-
palities. The Town of Bennington is the region's largest
municipality and its economic center. Historically, the
region's economy was based on industrial manufactur-
ing. The closure of manufacturing facilities has left
behind numerous potentially contaminated abandoned
buildings, factories, and vacant lots. Jobs in the manu-
facturing sector have dropped from 38 to 27 percent of
Assessment Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Bennington County Regional
Commission for a brownfields assessment grant.
Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to
inventory brownfields and conduct up to six Phase
I and three to four Phase II environmental site
assessments throughout Bennington County. Grant
funds also will be used to support 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/regionl/brownfields
Grant Recipient: Bennington County Regional
Commission, VT
802-442-0713, ext. 3
The information presented in this fact sheet comes
from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the
accuracy of this information. The cooperative
agreement for the grant has not yet been negoti-
ated. Therefore, activities described in this fact
sheet are subject to change.
total jobs. The area's family poverty rate is nearly
twice that of the state. A state database has listed
about 80 brownfields throughout the region, including
51 in the Town of Bennington. These sites inhibit
private redevelopment efforts and pose potential
threats to human health, natural resources, and ground-
water. Brownfields assessments are expected to help
create opportunities for redevelopment and community
revitalization.
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA560-F-08-210
April 2008
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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