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EPA PROVIDES VERMONT $100,000 TO ADDRESS 'ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE' ISSUES

Release Date: 09/29/1998
Contact Information: Leo Kay, Press Office, (617) 918-4154

BOSTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued the state of Vermont a $100,000 grant recently to address environmental problems associated with mobile home parks throughout the state.

The "environmental justice" grant will go to a number of state agencies who have been working over the past year to develop and implement solutions for mobile home park problems that previously seemed unsolvable from a single agency perspective. In particular, the agencies have determined that practicable, cost effective solutions are needed to address two main issues: sewage disposal problems that, once implemented, would also help resolve the water supply problems experienced by many mobile home parks.

"No segment of our society should ever have to bear a disproportionate amount of environmental harm. This grant will ensure that Vermont's mobile home community receives the same amount of environmental protection as everyone else in the state, focusing particularly on the problems presented by sewage disposal and water supply," said John P. DeVillars, administrator of the EPA's New England Office.

The Mobile Home Park Compliance Group includes the Attorney General's Office, the Agency of Natural Resources, and the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (which includes the Department of Health and the Department of Labor and Industry). The group seeks to comply with legal standards and remediate adverse environmental conditions at mobile home parks while meeting the affordable housing needs of thousands of Vermonters.

Vermont was one of five entities in the country to receive $100,000 to address environmental justice issues. Other recipients include the states of New Jersey, Tennessee, Texas and the Kalispel Tribe of Indians in the Pacific Northwest.