Vermont has secured $2.8 million in grants from the federal government to fund projects in northern Vermont.
The money comes from the Northern Border Regional Commission, a federal-state partnership that funds economic and community development projects in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York.
One of this year's grants will help the town of Fairfax extend municipal water and sewer systems to maple products business, Runamok Maple.
Runamok Maple's co-owner Eric Sorkin says the infrastructure improvements will help the business expand.
"It opens us up to pursuing other lines of business," Sorkin said, "the grant is what gives us confidence to continue to grow in this space."
Sorkin said the federal grant will cover about 80 percent of the project's cost. The rest of the project's funding will come from a smaller grant and matching funds from Runamok Maple.
Since it's creation in 2008, the NBRC has invested over ten million dollars in Vermont.
