Brownfields 2007 Grant Fact Sheet

Shelton, 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.

CLEANUP GRANT

$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the City of Shelton for a brownfields cleanup grant. Petroleum grant funds will be used to clean up the former Rolfite property located at 131 East Canal Street. The site was used to manufacture fuel-blending additives and is contaminated with polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons. Grant funds also will be used to support community involvement activities.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The City of Shelton was selected to receive a brownfields cleanup grant. Located in the Naugatuck Valley Corridor, Shelton's (population 38,000) minority population has nearly doubled since 2002. The percentage of residents living below the poverty level has increased by 40 percent since 1989. The former Rolfite property is in the Shelton Enterprise and Commerce Park, the city's central business district along the Housatonic River. Most of the city's low-income residents live in or near this area. The presence of several brownfields in the area has been associated with job losses, a decline in population, and a decrease in local tax revenue. Cleanup and redevelopment of the former Rolfite property is part of the city's area-wide plan to add housing, businesses, and open space that will help revitalize downtown Shelton. Cleanup of the site also will improve ecological and aesthetic conditions along the river, and enable the city to construct a riverwalk extension.

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 Shelton, CT
203-924-2521

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.