Brownfields 2010 Assessment Grant  Fact Sheet
               St. Johnsbury,  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 Town of St. Johnsbury was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant. St. Johnsbury (population
7,571) is located within the "Northeast Kingdom" area of
Vermont, which lies between the Green and White
Mountains along the border with Canada. As the largest
town in this rural three-county region, St. Johnsbury has
been the historical center of industry and manufacturing
since the 1800s. Today, many of these industries are gone,
leaving run-down, idle, and abandoned properties that
include former electroplating, metal fabrication, and
plastic manufacturing facilities. According to the state, the
town has 80 contaminated industrial and landfill
properties. About 75 percent of downtown residents live
in poverty. Countywide, the unemployment rate has
consistently been the fourth or fifth highest in the state
during the past 10 years. Located in the most isolated
region of Vermont, St. Johnsbury also has been the  site of
illegal dumping. Assessment of brownfields  are expected
to help the town spur brownfields cleanup and reuse, and
facilitate reinvestment in the downtown.
                     Assessment Grant $200,000 for hazardous
                     substances
                     EPA has selected the Town of St. Johnsbury for a
                     brownfields assessment grant. Community-wide
                     hazardous substances grant funds will be used to
                     conduct four Phase I and up to three Phase II
                     environmental site assessments. Grant funds also
                     will be used to prepare a cleanup plan and perform
                     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
                     (http://www.epa.gov/brownfields).

                     EPA Region 1 Brownfields Team
                     (617)918-1424
                     EPA Region 1 Brownfields Web site
                     (http://www.epa.gov/regionl/bro wnfields)

                     Grant Recipient: Town of St. Johnsbury,VT
                     802-748-1265

                     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-10-037
      April 2010

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