‘Really Pleased with the Outcome’: Nancy Merrill Discusses Multi-Purpose EPA Grant

By Tyler Maheu
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
CLAREMONT – The city of Claremont was recently awarded an $800,000 multi-purpose grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). According to Planning and Development Department Director Nancy Merrill, this grant has been years in the making.

“The multi-purpose grant is the result of a couple of things we did in the last few years,” she said. She explained that a couple years ago, the old gas works site was remediated by the EPA and Ameir-Gas. Following that remediation, the parcel of land was transferred to the city.

“At the same time, the EPA had some assessment money, and we asked them to do an assessment near the smokestack,” Merrill said.

That testing came back with problems, largely due to the ground existing on the sites of old manufacturing and heating plants. Ongoing testing was recommended at that time. Then, two years ago, a conceptual design was put together to show how that parcel of land could be used in the future.

The next step came in 2022, when the city contacted the University of Connecticut and linked up with the Technical Assistance for Brownfields (TAB) program.

“They came up here, took a look at the land, [and] did environmental studies before working with our department on concept ideas,” Merrill said.

Following this, last August, a public hearing was held. Ideas on the use of the land were varied, from dog parks and playgrounds to an amphitheater and brewery. According to Merrill, handicap accessibility was also a main point of emphasis. With the public feedback from that meeting, TAB wrote a report for the city on the two parcels of land. Altogether, that land totals six acres.

In November 2022, they applied for the multi-purpose grant.

“The application was based on previous testing, abatement and concept ideas,” Merrill said. “They liked the application. We are very lucky to be getting funding. It is a great source for what we need.”

Because this grant is considered multi-purpose, Merrill said that this gives the city greater flexibility due to the grant lasting a period of years, allowing for further testing and abatement as needed to develop an implementation plan. F or the city, planning starts now, she added.

“The hope and the plan is that by the end of the year, we’ll really start to think about how we can put details on this plan so it’s not just a concept,” she said. “So, from now until the end of the year, my hope is that we will have a pretty detailed plan about what we want to do down here.”

Further funding is a possibility on the horizon. “We did submit a request with Senator Shaheen’s office for congressionally directed spending on an implementation plan,” Merrill said. “If we are fortunate, we would have implementation funds to create what everyone in the community says they want down there.”

Despite the new funding, changes to the area will not happen instantaneously. “I think it will be ongoing,” she said. “And, even if we are fortunate enough to get all the funding we need for the Brownfield and implementation side, it will not happen overnight.” She said she anticipates the process taking at least a couple of years.

Overall, Merrill sees the funding as a boon to the community. “I was really pleased with the outcome of this,” she said. “It gives the city a lot of flexibility, and it’s not something that needs to be spent on one thing during a set time period. It will be available for us as we work to reuse the site.”