Vermont Awarded $1.8 Million for Brownfields Projects

Vermont Awarded $1.8 Million for Brownfields Projects

WASHINGTON, May 8 – Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today announced that six Vermont organizations won a share of $1.8 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help assess, clean up and reuse polluted industrial sites.

The brownfields cleanup program has helped dozens of Vermont communities turn old contaminated industrial sites into parks, housing, and new business opportunities –   creating jobs and cleaning up the environment.  The EPA awarded the following organizations grants:

  • City of Burlington: A $200,000 grant to enable the City of Burlington to work with the community and other stakeholders to develop an area-wide plan and implementation strategy for the Railyard Enterprise brownfield area.
  • New England Youth Theater, Brattleboro:  Two $200,000 grants totaling $400,000 to clean up two adjoining sites, 100 Flat Street and 56 Elm Street. 
  • Northwest Regional Planning Commission, St. Albans:  Two $200,000 assessment grants totaling $400,000 for use across Franklin and Grand Isle Counties to help communities complete environmental site assessments in preparation of clean up.
  • Southern Windsor County Regional Planning Commission, Windsor:  A $200,000 assessment grant which will be used across Southern Windsor County to complete environmental site assessments and to create clean up plans.
  • Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, Montpelier:  Two $200,000 assessment grants totaling $400,000 for use statewide to complete environmental site assessments and to create clean up plans. 
  • Windham Regional Commission, Brattleboro: Two $200,000 grants totaling $400,000 to conduct environmental site assessments in Windham County.

In a joint statement, Leahy, Sanders and Welch said:  “Vermont communities have hundreds of former industrial sites that remain unused because of development obstacles such as pollution.  These grants help these communities turn lemons into lemonade, turning underused industrial wastelands into community assets where people can work, live and play.”