Brownfields 2006 Grant Fact Sheet

Meriden, CT

EPA BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders 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.

CLEANUP GRANT

$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of Meriden for a brownfields cleanup grant. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to clean up the HUB site at 1 and 77 State Street, a former mixed-use site contaminated by metals, vinyl chloride, and other hazardous substances. Grant funds will be used to remove and dispose of contaminated soil, perform groundwater sampling, and conduct community involvement activities.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The City of Meriden was selected to receive a brownfields cleanup grant. Located in central Connecticut, Meriden (population 58,244) is a struggling industrial-based city that has seen a decline in manufacturing, resulting in brownfields throughout the city. Approximately 11 percent of residents live below the poverty level, 20.3 percent of residents are minorities, and the per capita income is only 74 percent of the state level. The poorest residents in the community live near the city's blighted and contaminated industrial and commercial properties, and have the highest unemployment rates. Brownfields contamination and flood control issues that pose threats to human health and the environment have been significant barriers to the city's economic development plans. The city plans to transform the blighted, vacant property into a park. This brownfields redevelopment project will provide local residents access to open space for community gatherings. Most importantly, the cleanup will remove a contaminated former industrial facility from the heart of the city. It will also create jobs, mitigate flooding, produce economic returns, and increase the quality of life for residents.

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
617-918-1424
http://www.epa.gov/region01/brownfields/

Grant Recipient: City of Meriden, CT
203-630-4151

The cooperative agreement for this grant has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.