(Woodstock, VT)— The Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission (TRORC) has been awarded $21,200 from the State’s Ecosystem Restoration Program’s (ERP) to design a floodplain restoration area along Pinney Hollow Brook at the site of the former Farmbrook Motel in Plymouth on VT Route 100A. TRORC will work with a consultant this spring to design a restoration plan for this site that creates new floodplain for this tributary that was ravaged by Tropical Storm Irene. New floodplain access will give the river a chance to deposit debris and sediment as well as water during a flood and will improve the Ottauquechee watershed’s health and lessen flooding and erosion risks in Bridgewater and Plymouth. Peter Gregory, TRORC’s Executive Director notes “These projects will implement solutions to problems we identified after Tropical Storm Irene. We intend to continue improving our economic resiliency and public safety with efforts like these.”
TRORC also received a small $3,600 grant from VT ERP’s EPA pass-through funds to map all of the destroyed structures from TS Irene. Many of these sites are buyouts and are being converted to town parks but many have just been demolished. As part of the State’s Ecosystem Restoration Program’s annual grant process, TRORC received these grants which will protect water quality and support TRORC’s work with local, state and federal levels of government and to the Region’s non-profits and businesses as well as to improve the long-term health of the Ottauquechee River and its watershed in central Vermont.
For more information about this watershed planning work, contact Pete Fellows at 802-457-3188 or via email at [email protected].
Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission is one of eleven regional planning commissions in the state of Vermont. TRORC’s mission is to advocate for the needs of our member towns and to articulate a vision and carry out actions that build a thriving regional economy while enhancing the quality of life for its citizens.
Download official press release here: Press Release: Watershed Planning Funding Announced