Biden-Harris Administration Announces $7.25M for Cleanup and Assessment at Polluted Brownfields Sites in Vermont

EPA announces the largest investment ever in brownfields communities made by President Biden's Investing in America Agenda

May 25, 2023

BOSTON (May 25, 2023) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $7,250,000 from President Biden's Investing in America Agenda to expedite the assessment and cleanup of brownfields sites in Vermont while advancing environmental justice.

EPA selected six communities in Vermont to receive seven grants totaling $4,250,000 in competitive EPA Brownfields funding through the Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant programs. Thanks to the historic boost from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this is the largest ever funding awarded in the history of the EPA's Brownfields MARC Grant programs. In addition, the agency is announcing $3,000,000 in non-competitive supplemental funding to two successful existing Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grant programs to help expedite their continued work at sites in their area by extending the capacity of the program to provide more funding for additional cleanups.

These investments are part of President Biden's Investing in America Agenda to grow the American economy from the bottom up and middle-out – from rebuilding our nation's infrastructure, to driving over $470 billion in private sector manufacturing and clean energy investments in the United States, to creating a manufacturing and innovation boom powered by good paying jobs that don't require a four-year degree, to building a clean-energy economy that will combat climate change and make our communities more resilient.

"We're working across the country to revitalize what were once dangerous and polluted sites in overburdened communities into more sustainable and environmentally just places that serve as community assets. Thanks to President Biden's historic investments in America, we're moving further and faster than ever before to clean up contaminated sites, spur economic redevelopment, and deliver relief that so many communities have been waiting for," said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. "This critical wave of investments is the largest in Brownfields history and will accelerate our work to protect the people and the planet by transforming what was once blight into might."

"Congratulations to the six Vermont organizations who will receive these new Brownfields grants this year," said EPA New England Regional Administrator David W. Cash. "Thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration, EPA will be making the single largest investment in Brownfields in history. This funding will revitalize communities across New England, and jump start economic redevelopment and job creation in many of New England's hardest hit and underserved communities."

"The work done to clean up and revitalize brownfields sites is so important to Vermont because it addresses both our economic and environmental goals," said Vermont Governor Phil Scott. "This latest round of brownfield funding from the EPA adds to the historic investments we've made to improve Vermont's infrastructure across the state. These new funds will allow us to partner with the state's regional planning commissions to transform these unusable brownfields into economic opportunities that will strengthen our communities, which is vital in achieving to our strategic goals."

"For our communities, our environment, and our local economies, it is essential that we continue the work to clean up former industrial sites across our state that are polluted and unused," said U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, which has oversight of the EPA. "I have seen firsthand all the good that can come from bringing these contaminated properties back to safe and productive use, and I look forward to seeing the progress that comes from this latest round of EPA grants. Congratulations to the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, the Northeastern Vermont Development Association, the Northwest Regional Planning Commission, the Rutland Regional Planning Commission, the Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Planning Commission, and the Windham Regional Planning Commission on today's awards."

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Brownfields remediation funding redevelops and reimagines our communities. This critical funding to local development associations and planning commissions across our state will help Vermont put cleanup efforts in motion, and in turn help strengthen the long-term health and economic wellbeing of Vermont communities," said U.S. Senator Peter Welch. "I've been proud to support these efforts in the House by passing legislation like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and look forward to continuing this work as a Senator."

"I'm grateful for the Biden Administrations investments that will revitalize our communities through sustainable cleanup programs. When we invest in the environmental health of these communities, we enable economic development and stimulate job growth in places that need it most. I'm looking forward to seeing the economic and environmental impact that these grants will have here in Vermont," said U.S. Congresswoman Becca Balint.

Many communities that are under economic stress, particularly those located in areas that have experienced long periods of disinvestment, lack the resources needed to initiate brownfields cleanup and redevelopment projects. As brownfields sites are transformed into community assets, they attract jobs, promote economic revitalization, and transform communities into sustainable and environmentally just places.

Thanks to the historic $1.5 billion boost from President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA's Brownfields Program is helping more communities than ever before begin to address the economic, social, and environmental challenges caused by brownfields and stimulate economic opportunity, and environmental revitalization in historically overburdened communities.

EPA's Brownfields Program also advances President Biden's Justice40 Initiative to direct 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments to disadvantaged communities. The Brownfields Program strives to meet this commitment and advance environmental justice and equity considerations into all aspects of its work. Approximately 84 percent of the MARC program applications selected to receive funding proposed to work in areas that include historically underserved communities.

State Funding Breakdown:

Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant Program Selection

The following organizations in Vermont have been selected to receive EPA Brownfields funding through the Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant Programs.

• Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, of Winooski, Vt., has been selected to receive $500,000 for a Brownfields Assessment Grant. Community-wide grant funds will be used to environmental site assessments, prepare cleanup plans, and conduct community outreach activities. Target areas for this grant are the Cities of Burlington and Winooski. Priority sites include a former bus terminal and a former railyard, both located in Burlington's 45-acre industrial corridor, and a vacant former gas station in Winooski's downtown core.
• Northeastern Vermont Development Association, of St. Johnsbury, Vt., has been selected to receive $1,000,000 for a Brownfields Assessment Grant. This grant will be used to conduct environmental site assessments, prepare cleanup and reuse plans, and to conduct community engagement activities. Assessment activities will focus on the City of Newport, downtown St. Johnsbury, the St. Johnsbury Neighborhood Development District, the Town of Lyndon, and small towns and rural areas throughout Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. Priority sites include a former Catholic school, underutilized mixed-use buildings, a former wooden dowel manufacturing facility, and a former tool manufacturing site, among other former industrial sites. In addition, EPA has selected the association for a Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grant that will be used to capitalize a revolving loan fund to provide loans and subgrants to support cleanup activities. This new RLF program will focus on the Town of St. Johnsbury, which historically was a micro-manufacturing hub centered around natural resource extraction and processing for northeastern Vermont. Priority sites include a former armory, a vacant lot on Packard Court, a former grain mill, and a former hotel.
• Northwest Regional Planning Commission, of St. Albans, Vt., has been selected to receive $350,000 for a Brownfields Assessment Grant. Communitywide grant funds will be used to conduct environmental site assessments, prepare cleanup plans, and to conduct community engagement activities. The target area for this grant is the Northwest Region of Vermont with a focus on the City of St. Albans and the Town Center of Richford. Priority sites include a residential property that sits on a former manufactured gas plant and the 9-acre Missisquoi Park.
• Rutland Regional Planning Commission has been selected to receive $400,000 for a Brownfields Assessment Grant. Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct environmental site assessments, prepare cleanup plans, and conduct community outreach activities. The target area for this grant is the City of Rutland. Priority sites include a 3-acre food center, an abandoned historic two-story building, a former hotel that was destroyed by fire, and a 3-acre vacant parcel adjacent to the city's train station.
• Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission, of Woodstock, Vt., has been selected to receive $500,000 for a Brownfields Assessment Grant. Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct environmental site assessments, prepare cleanup plans, and to conduct community engagement activities, including 20 community meetings. The target area for this grant is the Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Region with a focus on the Towns of Hartford, Randolph, and Royalton. Priority sites include the Pine Street block, which holds a variety of former commercial properties, a vacant and derelict grain mill, a restaurant, and store destroyed by fire in 2019, and a former wood products manufacturing facility.
• Windham Regional Commission, of Brattleboro, Vt., has been selected to receive $500,000 for a Brownfields Assessment Grant. Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct environmental site assessments, prepare cleanup plans and to conduct community engagement activities. The target area for this grant is the Windham Region with a focus on the Town of Brattleboro and the Village of Bellows Falls. Priority sites include an abandoned school property, a 1.4-acre former truck repair site, and a 0.14-acre vacant lot.

You can read more about this year's MARC selectees.

Non-competitive Supplemental Funding Through the Existing Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grant Program

The Agency is announcing $3,000,000 in non-competitive supplemental funding to two successful existing Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grant programs that have already achieved success in their work to clean up and redevelop brownfields sites. RLF Grants provide funding for recipients to offer loans and subgrants to carry out cleanup activities at brownfields sites. The funding announced today will help communities continue to address the economic, social, and environmental challenges caused by brownfields sites. The following Vermont organizations have been selected to receive non-competitive supplemental funding for their existing RLF programs.

• Northwest Regional Planning Commission, of St. Albans, Vt., has been selected to receive $1,000,000 for in supplemental RLF funding. The commission has received a total of $1,975,000 from EPA in prior years for this fund. Their RLF program has successfully made loans or subgrants leading to 13 cleanup projects that are either completed or in progress. Potential projects for this new funding include the St. Johnsbury Armory in St. Johnsbury and the 74 Lower Weldon site in St. Albans City. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding will extend the capacity of the program to provide funding for more cleanups in the most underserved areas in the State of Vermont with a focus on 23 towns in Franklin and Grand Isle Counties.
• Windham Regional Commission, of Brattleboro, Vt., has been selected to receive $2,000,000 in supplemental RLF funding, on top of the $2,850,000 in EPA funds awarded in prior years. Their RLF program has successfully made loans or subgrants leading to 18 cleanup projects that are either completed or in progress. Potential projects for this new funding include the Adams Grist Mill in Bellows Falls and the Book Press Club in Brattleboro. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding will extend the capacity of the program to provide funding for more cleanups in the most underserved areas in 23 towns of Windham County; Searsburg, Readsboro, and Winhall in Bennington County; Weston in Windsor County; and cities and towns throughout Bennington County.

Read more about this year's RLF recipients.

Brownfields Technical Assistance Provider for New England

EPA is also announcing funding selection for two Brownfields technical assistance opportunities. The Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) selectees provide specialized technical knowledge, research, and training to help stakeholders understand brownfields-related subject matter, and guide them through the brownfields assessment, clean-up, and revitalization process. This assistance is a key part of the Biden-Harris Administration's commitment to advance economic opportunities and address environmental justice issues in underserved communities. This technical assistance is available to all stakeholders and comes at no cost to communities. The two funding opportunities announced today include the following:

1. EPA selected the University of Connecticut (UConn) to receive $5,000,000 to provide training and technical assistance to communities across the state under the Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) Communities Program. This funding comes entirely from the historic $1.5 billion investment from President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Read more about this year's TAB selectees.
2. EPA is also expanding the scope of its technical assistance offerings under the Brownfields and Land Revitalization Program to include three new subject-specific grants totaling $2 million in three areas, including providing technical assistance to nonprofits seeking to reuse brownfields; provide research, outreach, and guidance on minimizing displacement resulting from brownfields redevelopment; and providing outreach and guidance on land banking tactics for brownfields revitalization. Read more on the Brownfields Technical Assistance and Research cooperative agreement recipients.

More information about Brownfields Technical Assistance and Research.

Additional Background:

EPA has selected these organizations to receive funding to address and support the reuse of brownfields sites. EPA anticipates making all the awards announced today once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied.

EPA's Brownfields Program began in 1995 and has provided nearly $2.37 billion in Brownfields Grants to assess and clean up contaminated properties and return blighted properties to productive reuse. EPA's investments in addressing brownfields sites have leveraged more than $36 billion in cleanup and redevelopment. Over the years, the relatively small investment of federal funding has leveraged, from both public and private sources, nearly 260,000 jobs. Communities that previously received Brownfields Grants used these resources to fund assessments and cleanups of brownfields, and successfully leverage an average of 10.6 jobs per $100,000 of EPA Brownfields Grant funds spent and $19.78 for every dollar.

The next National Brownfields Training Conference will be held on August 8-11, 2023, in Detroit, Michigan. Offered every two years, this conference is the largest gathering of stakeholders focused on cleaning up and reusing former commercial and industrial properties. EPA co-sponsors this event with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA).

• More on Brownfields Grants.
• More on EPA's Brownfields Program.