Brownfields 2007 Grant Fact Sheet

Meriden, CT

EPA BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield site is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. On January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields Law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through four competitive grant programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. Additionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism.

ASSESSMENT GRANT

$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of Meriden for a brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to prioritize sites, perform up to five Phase I and up to four Phase II environmental site assessments, and support community involvement activities.

CLEANUP GRANTS

$400,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of Meriden for two brownfields cleanup grants. Grant funds will be used to clean up a former silverware manufacturing facility at 77 Cooper Street. The facility operated from the late 1800s until the 1970s, contaminating the site with metals and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons. Grant funds also will be used to clean up the Insilco site at 104 Butler Street. The site was used for a variety of industrial and manufacturing purposes, including gun manufacturing, machining, and forging, and is contaminated with polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, metals, and volatile organics. Funds from both grants also will be used for community involvement activities.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The City of Meriden was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant and two brownfields cleanup grants. Located in New Haven County, in the geographical center of Connecticut, Meriden (population 58,244) is a struggling, industry-based city. A decline in the manufacturing sector has left numerous brownfields around the city. The poorest, most densely populated communities in the city are adjacent to blighted and contaminated industrial and commercial properties. The percentage of minority residents in these neighborhoods is nearly double that of the city-wide percentage, and unemployment exceeds 15 percent. Meriden is a highly built-out community with only ten percent of its developable land vacant. Assessment of the city's brownfields will help create investment opportunities that can recapture the value of downtown properties and foster job growth. Cleanup of the Cooper and Butler Street sites will allow the city to create a linear park, eliminate significant flooding problems, and improve the health and safety of neighborhood residents.

CONTACTS

For further information, including specific grant contacts, additional grant information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/brownfields.

EPA Region 1 Brownfields Team
617-918-1424
http://www.epa.gov/region01/brownfields/

Grant Recipient: City of Meriden, CT
203-630-4152

The information presented in this fact sheet comes from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. The cooperative agreement for the grant has not yet been negotiated. Therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.