Capitol Region Council of Governments, Metropolitan Hartford Region, CT
EPA BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and
other stakeholders in economic development 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.
ASSESSMENT GRANT
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Capitol Region Council of Governments for
a brownfields assessment grant. The grant will be used to continue
the Council's ongoing program of inventorying, characterizing,
and performing approximately 20 Phase I and 12 Phase II environmental
assessments on sites within the greater Hartford region that
may be contaminated with hazardous substances. Funds also will
be used to conduct community involvement and outreach activities.
COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION
The Capitol Region Council of Governments
(CRCOG) was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant.
CRCOG represents 34 contiguous cities and towns (total population
792,659) that comprise the 760-square-mile metropolitan Hartford
region of north central Connecticut. Between 1990 and 2001, the
region experienced a 26 percent drop in employment in machining
and aerospace, two of its core industries. There also was a nearly
13 percent drop in employment in the insurance sector. These drastic
reductions have left numerous underutilized commercial and industrial
sites across the region. At the same time, the region's minority
population has grown from nearly 21 percent to more than 27 percent.
The metropolitan Hartford region also has experienced a sprawling
development pattern with open space and agricultural lands consumed
for new development and infrastructure, thereby reducing greenspace
and endangering the environment. Assessment and redevelopment of
the region's brownfields sites are expected to create jobs and increase
tax revenues, while reducing the pressure on open space and preserving
natural resources.
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
617-918-1221
http://www.epa.gov/region01/brownfields/
Grant Recipient: Capitol Region Council of Governments, CT
860-522-2217, ext. 22
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not yet been negotiated;
therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
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