PILOT SNAPSHOT
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Date of Announcement:
May 2000
Amount: $200,000
Greenspace:$50,000 |
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Profile: The Pilot targets the environmental
and economic redevelopment of four sites and the ecological restoration of one
site within the Ft. Trumbull area of New London.
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BACKGROUND
EPA has selected the City of New London for a Brownfields Pilot.
New London was also selected to receive additional funding for
assessments at Brownfields properties to be used for greenspace
purposes. New London (population 28,540) has an unemployment rate
of 7.6 percent and more than half of its residents live below
the poverty line. Minorities make up nearly one-third of New London's
residents. The city also has had a declining population for 40
years.
Due to its location along the Thames River, New London has a rich maritime
history. Fort Trumbull was home to the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, where
SONAR and other advances in military surveillance were made, but the closing
of Fort Trumbull has created an economic and environmental burden on the city.
The large, closed site is suspected to contain contamination from years of whaling, shipbuilding, canning, and storage and distribution of military supplies. The city itself is small, with a total land area of 5.79 square miles. Within this
area, more than half of the land is tax_exempt, decreasing city revenue. With
no large parcels left for development (the only undeveloped land are parcels
of less than one acre) the city must turn to its brownfields for revitalization
and redevelopment. In addition, New London is below the state's standard on
in-city parkland.
OBJECTIVES
The New London Brownfields Pilot focuses on promoting the redevelopment of
five brownfields sites in or adjacent to Ft. Trumbull. Four of these sites are
targeted for economic redevelopment, and one has been designated for greenspace
use. By taking advantage of successful redevelopment efforts already underway
in the Ft. Trumbull area, the Pilot will carry out site assessments and mobilize
community involvement groups to promote development of the sites. The city has
already assessed and cleaned up two brownfields sites in the Fort Trumbull area,
and the Pilot will address the remaining five. The City of New London is participating in the economic revitalization of the entire southeastern Connecticut area, by seeking to become a major transportation hub and centerpiece to the region's redevelopment. In addition, the Pilot will use greenspace funds to address a fifth brownfields site and create the Bentley Creek Wetland Restoration Area.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
- Performing Phase I and Phase II site assessments;
- Empowering community-involvement groups;
- Generating site reuse plans; and
- Performing site assessment and working with the community on the greenspace
project site.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated; therefore,
activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
CONTACTS
City of New London
(860) 447-5203
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 1
(617) 918-1424
Visit the EPA Region 1 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region01/brownfields/index.html
For further information, including specific Pilot contacts, additional
Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links,
visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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