Brownfields 2010 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet
Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, VT
EPA Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states.
communities, and other stakeholders to work together to
prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse
brownfields. A brownfield 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. In
2002, the Small Business Liability Relief and
Brownfields Revitalization Act was passed to help
states and communities around the country cleanup and
revitalize brownfields sites. 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 Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission
was selected to receive two brownfields assessment
grants. Located in northwestern Vermont, Chittenden
County (population 152,782) contains 19
municipalities, including the targeted communities of
Burlington, Winooski, and Essex Junction (combined
population 54,382). Burlington, the largest municipality
in Vermont, has served as a lumber port, rail hub, and
precision manufacturing center. Winooski was
developed around textile mills built in the early 1800s,
and Essex Junction is a regional employment center
anchored by an IBM factory. These communities
contain 265 of the known contaminated sites in the
county. Each community has been impacted by the
economic downturn, with substantial increases in
unemployment last year. IBM, the state's largest
employer, has reduced its employment by about 3,500
jobs in the past eight years. These losses have affected
the entire region. Brownfield assessments are expected
to pave the way for site cleanup and redevelopment.
Eventual site reuse is expected to increase affordable
housing options, create jobs, and increase greenspace.
Assessment Grants
$200,000 for hazardous substances
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the Chittenden County Regional
Planning Commission for two brownfields
assessment grants. Community-wide hazardous
substances grant funds will be used to conduct three
Phase I and three Phase II environmental site
assessments in the targeted Cities of Burlington and
Winooski, and the Village of Essex Junction.
Petroleum grant funds will be used to inventory
potential brownfield sites in Winooski and the Essex
Junction village center, and conduct three Phase I
and three Phase II environmental site assessments in
the targeted communities. Grant funds also will be
used to conduct community outreach activities and
cleanup planning.
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
(http://www.epa.gov/brownfields).
EPA Region 1 Brownfields Team
(617)918-1424
EPA Region 1 Brownfields Web site
(http: //www. epa.gov/region 1 /brownfields)
Grant Recipient: Chittenden County Regional
Planning Commission,VT
(802) 846-4490 ext 30
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 negotiated.
Therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are
subject to change.
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 560-F-10-033
Apr 10
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