BRATTLEBORO — The Brattleboro Area Farmers' Market (BAFM) received a $35,000 grant on May 18 through the Windham Regional Commission Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund.
BAFM will use the funds this summer to decontaminate the former Planet gas station site at 70 Western Ave.
The gas station building and canopy will be removed, and the site will be re-graded and redeveloped, creating additional parking to serve the Saturday farmers' market. The work will also result in a safe green space, a sidewalk, and a nicer looking site.
WRC assisted BAFM with site assessment in 2014, due to the former use of the property as a gas station.
Like many former gas station sites, corrective action will be necessary to mitigate potential impacts to human health and the environment.
Soils at the site are contaminated with varying concentrations of volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, arsenic, polychlorinated biphenyls, (PCBs), and total petroleum hydrocarbons.
None of these contaminants are airborne, nor do they pose immediate public health risks.
The site will be remediated with a combination of geotextile fabric, a clean soil and/or gravel barrier, and sidewalk paving. A deed restriction will also be implemented to ensure that this protective cap is maintained.
The Windham Region Brownfields Reuse Initiative (WRBRI) was established in 2000 with funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The program's overall goal is to restore brownfield properties to productive uses.