EPA awards brownfields grants to three Vermont entities

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Washington, gave brownfields grants to three Vermont recipients. This year, Vermont entities received $700,000 for assessment and cleanup of brownfield sites. These communities are among 172 across the country to receive EPA brownfields funding.

Island Holdings LLC will receive $200,000 for cleanup at the Robertson Paper Mill in Bellows Falls. This site used to be a paper mill, foundry and machine shop and it is contaminated with petroleum, asbestos, heavy metals, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons and arsenic. This grant will be used to help clean up the property, preparing it for future reuse.

The Brattleboro Museum and Arts Center is getting $200,000 for cleanup at 11 Arch Street in Brattleboro. This site was formerly used as an electric power generating station and substation, machine shop and grist mill, and is contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heavy metals, perchloroethene and PCBs. This cleanup grant will contribute to the cleanup of contamination, which will help get the site on the right track for future redevelopment.

The Bennington County Regional Commission is getting $300,000 for assessment grants that will be used to conduct up to seven environmental site assessments and prepare three or four cleanup plans. Environmental assessments are important first steps to cleanup and redevelopment. They help to evaluate site conditions so that plans can be made for future reuse.

"Assessing and cleaning up contaminated brownfields sites are the first steps to revitalizing unused properties in communities across Vermont, and EPA is very proud to be part of that process," says EPA Regional Administrator Deb Szaro.

Across the six New England states in 2017, EPA is awarding a total of $10.4 million for 32 communities to assess or clean brownfields, as well as $750,000 for technical assistance to six communities.