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EPA Gives $200,000 Brownfields Grant to Windham Regional Commission in Vermont

Release Date: 05/18/2000
Contact Information: Peyton Fleming, EPA Press Office (617-918-1008)

BOSTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that the Windham Regional Commission has been chosen to receive $200,000 of Brownfields assistance to help assess cleanup and redevelopment options in Windham, a former industrial region.

The Windham Regional Commission will use the funds to establish a steering committee to develop site selection criteria and to identify Brownfields in the area. The funds will also be used to elicit community involvement and to assess cleanup at a number of sites in the area, with a goal of downtown revitalization.

The Windham Regional Commission is among 15 grant recipients in New England and 102 chosen nationally to receive more than $35 million in Brownfields grants. The funds are being used across the country for site assessments, revolving loan cleanup programs and Brownfields job training programs.

"This $200,000 grant will help jump start Windham's efforts to clean up its abandoned and contaminated sites so they can be put back to productive reuse," said Mindy S. Lubber, regional administrator of EPA's New England Office. "As a result, residents of the area can look forward to a cleaner environment, new jobs and more tax revenues for the community."

"I am very pleased that EPA has approved the Windham Regional Commission Brownfields proposal," said U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy. "Coming shortly after the Southern Windsor assessment pilot grant, this is a major step for the Connecticut Valley."

"I am very pleased see Brownfields funding reaching the towns of Southern Vermont, where there is such a need for this type of assistance," said U.S. Sen. James. M. Jeffords. "Small towns have historically missed out on Brownfield redevelopment opportunities but that has changed, thanks to effective outreach by the EPA and strong leadership by the Windham Regional Commission."

A total of $5.4 million in Brownfield grants were awarded today to 15 New England recipients. Other grants went to New Bedford, Brockton, North Adams and Gloucester in Massachusetts; Providence and the State of Rhode Island; Westbrook and Lewiston in Maine; and New London, Berlin, Danbury, Naugatuck Valley and Middlesex Community College in Connecticut.