All News Releases By Date

EPA Awards $200,000 Brownfields Grant to Naugatuck, Connecticut

Release Date: 08/06/2008
Contact Information: Jeanethe Falvey, 617.918.1020

Boston, Mass. – August 6, 2008) The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) presented a $200,000 Brownfields cleanup grant to the Borough of Naugatuck, Connecticut today. This grant will help fund the cleanup of a vacant building at 58 Maple Street that was formerly part of a rubber plant and is now contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and toxic metals.

The Brownfields program aids communities in the cleanup and revitalization efforts for properties of which redevelopment might have been previously complicated or hindered by the presence of pollution or hazardous substances. This grant will also help fund groundwater monitoring on site and the installation of a protective cap. The Borough of Naugatuck was one of two Connecticut communities recently selected through a competitive national process to receive a Brownfields cleanup grant, Newtown received the second.

"The Borough of Naugatuck is pleased to receive the EPA Brownfields cleanup grant and believes it shows strong support for the revitalization of our downtown and the Renaissance Place Project," stated Mayor Mike Bronko.

"EPA’s Brownfields program has had incredible success helping New England communities revitalize overlooked and abandoned properties,” said Robert W. Varney, Regional Administrator of EPA's New England regional office. "What were once perhaps dangerous or unsightly parcels of land can now become a source of revenue as they provide for skilled jobs, greater real estate potential and a cleaner environment.”

In addition to industrial and commercial redevelopment, Brownfields projects have converted industrial waterfronts to riverfront parks, rail corridors to recreational trails, landfills to golf courses and gas stations to housing. EPA's Brownfields program promotes redevelopment of the estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated waste sites in the United States. Municipalities and select organizations can also receive funding for cleanup grants and to establish revolving loan programs that provide low interest loans for cleanups.

For more information on the Brownfields Program please visit:

- Brownfields in New England (epa.gov/region1/brownfields)
- National information on Brownfields (epa.gov/brownfields)