All News Releases By Date

EPA AWARDS $400,000 IN BROWNFIELDS GRANTS AND SERVICES TO CONNECTICUT CITIES

Release Date: 05/13/1997
Contact Information: Leo Kay, Press Office, (617)918-4154

BOSTON -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded $400,000 in funds and services to Connecticut municipalities today as part of a renewed national commitment to revitalize abandoned "brownfield" sites whose redevelopment has thus far been thwarted by contamination.

Today's grants announcements were accompanied by a White House call for increased brownfields opportunities for municipalities plagued by abandoned, polluted properties. Fifteen federal agencies have teamed with 10 other organizations to pledge $300 million in grants and contracts, and $165 million in loan guarantees. White House officials also renewed the administration's proposal to provide tax incentives to those interested in returning to productive use contaminated properties.

The EPA awarded $200,000 to Hartford and site assessments valued collectively at $200,000 for Meriden, Danbury and Manchester. As part of today's announcement, the EPA's New England office awarded more than $1.3 million in grants and services to New England municipalities for brownfields activities. Since the program's inception three years ago, New England towns and municipalities from Limestone Maine to Bridgeport, Conn. have now received 20 brownfields grants, valued at more than $3.5 million. New England has received more brownfields grants than any other region the country.

"What were once considered stumbling blocks to redevelopment are now building blocks," said John P. DeVillars, administrator of the EPA's New England office. "Here in Connecticut, EPA and our community partners will prove yet again that environmental protection and sustainable economic development go hand in hand."

"We need an urban landscape that is not littered with abandoned lots and vacant properties. The grants from the EPA will help evaluate contamination and develop cleanup plans for these sites," said Senator Joseph Lieberman. "The support will bring economic growth back to theses areas and uplift the surrounding community."

"This initiative weeds out blighted and contaminated sites and in their places plants economic growth and opportunity," said Senator Christopher Dodd. "Not only will this assistance help clean up our state -- it will also create jobs along the way, and economic rebirth down the road."

"It is sometimes difficult to convince new businesses to locate in older towns and cities. With the help of these grants, Hartford and Manchester can begin to change their brownfields into greener pastures for redevelopment," said Congresswoman Barbara Kennelly.

"Communities shouldn't be forced to jump through hoops and over roadblocks to stimulate economic growth out of barren, contaminated sites," said Congressman Jim Maloney, who earlier this year authored legislation that would make it easier to clean up contaminated industrial sites and return them to productive use. "This small investment will have a positive impact on the entire area -- struggling workers will have new jobs; local homeowners will enjoy increased property values; area businesses will acquire new land for investment; and families will benefit from a cleaner environment."

"Connecticut has acted to make the revitalization of the state's urban areas as one of its top priorities, cleaning up and returning urban sites to productive use," said Sidney J. Holbrooke, DEP Commissioner. "The federal brownfields initiative together with the state's urban site remediation program will assist communities with the evaluation and expedited cleanup of contaminated sites. Once cleaned, these sites are more attractive to redevelopers preserving our open, green spaces for future generations."

The City of Hartford hopes to foster new development in two areas, North Hartford and the Sheldon/Charter Oak Neighborhood. EPA funds will be used for evaluating sites, establishing site priorities with community input, conducting environmental assessments, developing site-specific cleanup and redevelopment plans, developing marketing approaches and educating residents about brownfields. About 30 percent of approximately 1,100 acres occupied by companies who have closed down over the past decade has been abandoned and more than 750 buildings are vacant, resulting in the loss of jobs and tax base and the decay of neighborhoods surrounding these areas.

Danbury officials plan on redeveloping a portion of a former hat manufacturing site at 13 Barnum Court contaminated with volatile organic compounds, (VOCs), lead and mercury. The city foreclosed on the acre property in 1995 and has since conducted several investigations at the site.

The Town of Manchester is eyeing the former Buckland manufacturing company, a 1.6 acre site with 17,500 square feet of processing/office space. The site assessment will focus on investigating building surfaces, groundwater, soil, drums, a drainage system and underground storage tanks in an effort to determine the nature and extent of contamination at the site. The town currently has two options for redeveloping the site: offer the property under a competitive bidding process to buyers who would clean up and redevelop the site, or clean up the site itself and either sell or lease the property to recoup cleanup costs.

In Meriden, city officials plan to redevelop a seven-acre property used at various periods since the 1800s for manufacturing silverware, assembling guns and serving as a gas storage area. The site contains asbestos inside and outside the buildings, as well as several above and below ground storage tanks and drums of process waste. The city has done a reuse analysis for the property and believes it is suited for industrial redevelopment.