By Tyler Maheu
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
CLAREMONT — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently announced it will award $315 million to Brownfields communities across the country to revitalize dangerous and polluted sites into more sustainable and environmentally justified places.
Claremont is slated to receive $800,000.00 in the form of a Multipurpose Community-Wide Grant from those monies.
“I think it’s a wonderful thing that is going to help us clean up this site and allow us an opportunity to progress on whatever we decide to do over there,” Mayor Dale Girard said. “It’s a great opportunity to get the site cleaned up and try to have our information together for when we can continue the project.”
The site is the Brownfields near the old Sullivan Tower along the Sugar River.
“The multi-purpose grant which we received will give us a fund for brownfield testing and abatement on the Sugar River land here from Broad Street down to Spring Street,” Planning and Development Director Nancy Merrill said. “The land down here has all been tested and has different types of contamination from the old manufacturing plants. As the city looks to redevelop down here, we need a lot of testing and then abatement.”
She added that a long-term relationship will be formed with the EPA, which is supporting the redevelopment of the city’s land.
“In recent years, a lot of effort has gone into attempting to clean up this stretch of property and turn it into usable land for the community,” Merrill said. “We met last year when we worked with the University of Connecticut Technical Assistance for Brownfields program.”
She explained that a public hearing was held last August and that input from that hearing will be crucial to future development plans.
“It’s a situation where they are trying to redevelop this piece of property to allow for the community to enjoy the space,” Girard noted.
The EPA said about $215 million is being awarded to 262 communities across the country in competitive EPA brownfields funding — the largest ever awarded in the history of the EPA’s Brownfields MARC Grant programs.
This investment will also fund Technical Assistance Providers to lead training in assessment, clean up, and revitalization to Brownfields communities in all 10 EPA regions.
Funding is made possible by the historic boost from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as part of the Investing in America plan and will expedite the assessment and cleanup of Brownfields sites across the country while advancing environmental justice.
As for next steps locally, Merrill said the wheels are already in motion.
“We will be starting in July to create a committee so that we have residents’ input throughout the process,” she said. “We have some testing going on right now, so we will continue to test and look at abatement and redevelopment scenarios. We will schedule public hearings and meetings. There are a lot of opportunities for public feedback.”
As your daily newspaper, we are committed to providing you with important local news coverage for Sullivan County and the surrounding areas.