Regional planners tell Senate panel Vermont’s brownfield cleanup need far exceeds current funds

Regional planning officials and developers told the Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs Committee on a Tuesday in February that Vermont’s brownfield assessment and cleanup needs far outstrip current funding and that higher costs for soil testing, hazardous‑material removal and disposal are constraining downtown housing redevelopment.

Tom Kenny, director of community development at the Mount Snow Regional Planning Commission, and David (Dave) Snedeker, director of the Northeastern Vermont Development Association, told the committee the 11 regional planning commissions jointly administer brownfield assessment work across the state and rely on a mix of EPA assessment grants, Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) funds, and a DEC‑managed program. They said regional estimates of identified cleanup costs top roughly $30 million for known sites handled by regional planning commissions alone, not counting DEC or ACCD projects.

Witnesses described the standard…