Bridgeport Times

WATERBURY – On June 6, Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-05) joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other members of the Connecticut delegation to announce $8,800,000 in federal funding to expedite the assessment and cleanup of brownfields sites in Connecticut while advancing environmental justice.

EPA selected six communities in Connecticut to receive six grants totaling $5,800,000 in competitive EPA Brownfields funding through the Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant programs. Thanks to the historic boost from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this is the largest ever funding awarded in the history of the EPA’s Brownfields MARC Grant programs. In addition, the agency is announcing $3,000,000 in non-competitive supplemental funding to one successful existing Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grant program to help expedite its continued work at sites in its area by extending the capacity of the programs to provide more funding for additional cleanups.

“Every community deserves to be clean, safe, and vibrant. When industrial sites fall into disrepair, and properties become distressed, the children and families around them suffer the most,” said US. Representative Jahana Hayes. “These communities are blocked from economic progress and at greater risk for long-term health issues. We passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to give places like Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley Region the support needed to jumpstart remediation and transform into hubs of opportunity.”

“We’re working across the country to revitalize what were once dangerous and polluted sites in overburdened communities into more sustainable and environmentally just places that serve as community assets. Thanks to President Biden’s historic investments in America, we’re moving further and faster than ever before to clean up contaminated sites, spur economic redevelopment, and deliver relief that so many communities have been waiting for,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “This critical wave of investments is the largest in Brownfields history and will accelerate our work to protect the people and the planet by transforming what was once blight into might.”

“Congratulations to the seven Connecticut organizations who will receive these new Brownfields grants this year,” said EPA New England Regional Administrator David W. Cash. “Thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration, EPA will be making the single largest investment in Brownfields in history. This funding will revitalize communities across New England, and jump start economic redevelopment and job creation in many of New England's hardest hit and underserved communities.”

Approximately 84 percent of the MARC program applications selected to receive funding proposed to work in areas that include historically underserved communities. The funding will address the economic, social, and environmental challenges caused by brownfields and stimulate economic opportunity, and environmental revitalization in historically overburdened communities in Connecticut and across the nation.  

Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant Program Selection  

The following organizations in Connecticut have been selected to receive EPA Brownfields funding through the Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant Programs.  

• Connecticut Metropolitan Council of Governments, of Bridgeport, Conn., has been selected to receive a $500,000 Brownfields Assessment Grant. Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct environmental site assessments, prepare reuse strategies and to conduct community engagement activities including Brownfield Working Group meetings. The target area for this grant is the City of Bridgeport and the Towns of Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Stratford, and Trumbull. Priority sites include vacant lots, a former theater, former commercial and industrial storage facilities, a former metal plating and trucking facility, and an illegal landfill.

• The City of Waterbury has been selected to receive a $1,000,000 Brownfields Cleanup Grant. Grant funds will be used to clean up the Brass City Food Hub site at 777 South Main Street, currently contaminated with a variety of substances including petroleum, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, inorganic contaminants, and heavy metals.

You can read more about this year’s MARC selectees.

Non-competitive Supplemental Funding Through the Existing Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grant Program

The Agency is announcing $3,000,000 in non-competitive supplemental funding to one successful existing Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grant program that has already achieved success in its work to clean up and redevelop brownfields sites. RLF Grants provide funding for recipients to offer loans and subgrants to carry out cleanup activities at brownfields sites. The funding announced today will help communities continue to address the economic, social, and environmental challenges caused by brownfields sites. The following Connecticut organization has been selected to receive non-competitive supplemental funding for its existing RLF program.

•  Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments ($3,000,000) In addition to the $11,099,850 in EPA funds already awarded, the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) has been selected to receive an additional $3,000,000 through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) because it has a high-performing RLF program with significantly depleted funds. The RLF program has successfully made loans or subgrants leading to 22 cleanup projects that are either completed or in progress. Potential projects highlighted for use of the BIL funding include 526 North Main Street in Waterbury and two Uni-Royal parcels in Naugatuck. The BIL funding will extend the capacity of the program to provide funding for more cleanups in the most underserved areas in the Naugatuck Valley Region.

Read more about this year’s RLF recipients.

Brownfields Technical Assistance Provider for New England

EPA is also announcing funding selection for two Brownfields technical assistance opportunities. The Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) selectees provide specialized technical knowledge, research, and training to help stakeholders understand brownfields-related subject matter, and guide them through the brownfields assessment, clean-up, and revitalization process. This assistance is a key part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to advance economic opportunities and address environmental justice issues in underserved communities. This technical assistance is available to all stakeholders and comes at no cost to communities. The two funding opportunities announced today include the following:  

1. EPA selected the University of Connecticut (UConn) to receive $5,000,000 to provide training and technical assistance to communities across the state under the Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) Communities Program. This funding comes entirely from the historic $1.5 billion investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Read more about this year’s TAB selectees.

2. EPA is also expanding the scope of its technical assistance offerings under the Brownfields and Land Revitalization Program to include three new subject-specific grants totaling $2 million in three areas, including providing technical assistance to nonprofits seeking to reuse brownfields; provide research, outreach, and guidance on minimizing displacement resulting from brownfields redevelopment; and providing outreach and guidance on land banking tactics for brownfields revitalization.

Read more on the Brownfields Technical Assistance and Research cooperative agreement recipients.

More information about Brownfields Technical Assistance and Research.