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EPA AWARDS FOR $324,125 WILL HELP VERMONT WITH SMART GROWTH

Release Date: 04/21/2000
Contact Information: Amy Miller, EPA Press Office (617-918-1042) Cliff Sinnott, Rockingham Planning Commission (603-778-0885) Mark Sinclair, Conservation Law Foundation (802-223-5992)

BOSTON - A Vermont project aimed at managing growth throughout the state and another to encourage train travel were among three New England projects selected this week to receive a total of $420,125 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These grants were among 27 projects chosen nationwide from about 1,000 applicants to receive funding through EPA's Sustainable Development Challenge Grant Program.

The Vermont Department of Housing and Community Affairs was chosen to receive $124,125 for its project, called "Facing Sprawl: Proactive Planning and Engagement Along Vermont's Interstate Corridors." The grant will help the state develop plans and guidelines for addressing sprawl "hot spots" along the state's interstate exchanges.

The Northern New England Rail Action Project, which received a $200,000 grant, will also benefit the state of Vermont. This award, given to the Conservation Law Foundation in Boston, will help protect regional air quality through planning and public education around expansion of a regional rail network in northern New England.

"As communities grow and change, they face the challenge of trying to preserve their natural resources and character at the same time they protect their local economy," said Mindy S. Lubber, Regional Administrator for EPA New England. "This project aims to do that in some of the areas of Vermont most threatened by growth pressures."

"This is outstanding news," said Molly Lambert, Secretary of Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, "The interchanges are gateways to our communities. This funding will help us work with those communities to devise appropriate development strategies for these critical areas."

"With the EPA grant, we will be able to work with a broad coalition of businesses and communities in northern New England to jumpstart a revitalized regional rail system," said Mark Sinclair, senior attorney with Conservation Law Foundation's Vermont Advocacy Center. "CLF believes that a revival of rail has the potential to restore the region's transportation vitality, strengthen our downtowns, and protect the environment. Its high time we reinvested in New England's proud but neglected rail network."

The third grant went to the Rockingham Planning Commission in New Hampshire, which received $96,000 to help with the development of alternative zoning and planning methods in the Seacoast region of that state.

Last year the city of Burlington and the Institute for Sustainable Communities received $98,315 for the Sustainable Burlington project, aimed at making Burlington a more effective model of sustainability.