Throughout his administration, Gov. Peter Shumlin has focused on ensuring that the economy of Windham County, and that of Vermont as whole, continues to strengthen.
With the closing of the Vermont Yankee nuclear facility after over 40 years, the Shumlin administration is also working hard to ameliorate the immediate impact to the plant's employees and to the region as a whole, while helping position Windham County for vibrancy in the coming decades.
Through the work of the administration in the regulatory process regarding Vermont Yankee's closure, Vermont has secured an unprecedented $10 million in funds for economic growth in Windham County. The funds will be paid by the plant's owners to the state in $2 million increments over five years.
At the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, we are now creating a process to distribute these funds fully for the benefit of economic development in this region. On July 9, Governor Shumlin and I were in Brattleboro for a luncheon hosted by the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce to discuss this program and other economic-development-related issues.