OA Brownfields 2000 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet
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/ Windham Regional Commission, Vermont
EPA Brownfields Initiative
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. 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. Additionally, funding support is
provided to state and tribal response programs through a
separate mechanism.
Background
EPA awarded the Windham Regional Commission
supplemental assistance for its Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilot. The Windham Region encompasses
27 towns in three counties (population 43,405) in the
southeast corner of Vermont. Mills and manufacturing
industries in the region have closed over the years due to
technological changes and reduced dependance on rail
and water transportation. Many vacant industrial
properties in the region have been on the market for
years due to real or perceived contamination. Low-wage
jobs in service industries have helped fill the
unemployment gap in towns that are struggling to
rebuild. One of the most distressed communities in the
region is Bellows Falls where 14 percent of residents live
in poverty.
The original Pilot created an inventory of sites in need of
environmental assessments and established a brownfields
steering committee that evaluated 13 sites nominated for
the program. Sites selected by the steering committee
emphasized downtown areas with low-to
moderate-income residents. Although some site
assessments were conducted, the original Pilot
emphasized aggressive public outreach. The
supplemental Pilot will emphasize site assessments.
Supplemental funds will be used to assess priority
Pilot Snapshot
Date of Announcement: 05/01/2002
Amount: $150,000
Profile: The Windham Regional Commission will
conduct environmental assessments on high priority
sites with the potential for redevelopment in
distressed towns.
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/brownfields)
Grant Recipient: Windham Regional Commission,VT
(802) 257-4547
Objectives
The Windham Regional Commission will use its
supplemental assistance grant to expand the brownfields
program begun under the original Pilot. Funds will be
used primarily for site assessments. However, public
outreach to affected communities, an inventory update,
and ongoing development and implementation of a
strategy for redeveloping brownfields also will be a
significant part of the project.
Activities
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
•	Conducting community outreach and soliciting
community involvement in the ongoing
brownfields program;
•	Updating the inventory and database of sites
begun under the original Pilot; and
•	Conducting an estimated three Phase I, two Phase
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 500-F-02-081
May 02

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brownfields sites and determine whether they are clean
or require cleanup planning. One site that likely will
receive Phase I, II, and III environmental assessments
through the supplemental assistance is the property
surrounding the previously targeted 10-acre TLR
Building site in Bellows Falls. This former paper
manufacturing site is now a hydroelectric power plant
and has strong potential for redevelopment. The
supplemental assistance also will target additional sites
nominated for environmental assessments. A number of
sites nominated for the Pilot are along the Connecticut
River, which is an American Heritage River.
II, and one Phase III environmental assessments
at sites targeted by the steering committee.
• The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not
yet been negotiated; therefore, activities
described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
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	c
Environmental	anri Fmpflpn™	EPA 500-F-02-081
j. j.- a	ancl Emergency	.. __
Protection Agency	Response (5105T)	MaV02
Washington, DC 20450	^ v '

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/r^. Brownfields 2000 Supplemental Assessment
{^} Pilot Fact Sheet
%( ^ Windham Regional Commission, VT
EPA Brownfields Initiative
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. 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. Additionally, funding support is
provided to state and tribal response programs through a
separate mechanism.
Background
EPA has selected the Windham Regional Commission
for a Brownfields Pilot. Located in the southeast corner
of Vermont, the Windham Region consists of 27 towns
in Windham, Bennington, and Windsor Counties. Once a
thriving industrial and transportation hub, this area is
now plagued with abandoned or underused industrial
properties, which remain underused because of real or
perceived environmental contamination. Over the years,
local industrial operations closed due to a variety of
factors, including technological change, a reduced need
to be near railroad and/or water resources, and market
changes. As manufacturing waned, employment in the
region made a gradual shift toward the service industries,
many of which pay far lower wage rates. Of the total
population, 11.6 percent live below the poverty level.
Because these properties are located in traditionally
commercial areas, their redevelopment and reuse will
stimulate economic renewal and growth of the entire
region.
Pilot Snapshot
Date of Announcement: 05/18/2000
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Windham Regional Commission Pilot
will target brownfields properties in the Windham
Region for assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment.
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/brownfields)
Grant Recipient: Windham Regional Commission,VT
(802) 257-4547
Objectives
The goal of the Windham Regional Commission is to
redevelop abandoned and underused brownfields in the
Pilot area to aid and stimulate economic activity in the
traditional commercial downtowns and village centers.
The Pilot's primary objective is to target brownfields
properties in the Windham Region for assessment,
cleanup, and redevelopment. Pilot funds will be used to
establish a steering committee that will develop site
selection criteria, as well as identify and prioritize
brownfields sites throughout the region. The Pilot will
conduct site assessments on targeted sites. In addition,
the Pilot will solicit community involvement and assist
with the development of cost-effective solutions,
financing strategies, and implementation measures for
the redevelopment at targeted sites.
Activities
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Establishing a steering committee;
United States	c
Environmental	anri Fmpflpn™ EPA 500-F-00-134
nil- a	ancl Emergency .. __
Protection Agency	Response (5105T) MaV00
Washington, DC 20450	^ v '

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•	Developing site selection criteria;
•	Identifying and targeting brownfields sites for
assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment using
site selection criteria;
•	Conducting Phase I, II, and III site assessments
at targeted properties;
•	Conducting community outreach and soliciting
community involvement in the selection of
potential sites and in the reuse options; and
•	Developing cost-effective solutions, financing
strategies, and implementation measures for the
redevelopment at targeted sites.
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
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
Solid Waste
EPA 500-F-00-134
May 00

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