United States
                       Environmental
                       Protection Agency
                       Washington, D.C. 20460
 Solid Waste
 and Emergency
 Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-97-058
May 1997

                      Regional  Brownfields
                      Assessment  Pilot
                                         Naugatuck Valley,  CT
  Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101)
                Quick Reference Fact Sheet
EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower States, communities,  and other
stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and
sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and
an active potential for redevelopment or reuse. Between 1995 and 1996, EPA funded 76 National and Regional Brownfields
Assessment Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations of brownfields
solutions. EPAis funding morethan 27 Pilots in 1997. The Pilots are intended to provide EPA, States, Tribes, municipalities,
and communities with useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods to promote a unified
approach to site assessment, environmental cleanup, and redevelopment.
  BACKGROUND

  EPA Region  1 selected the Naugatuck Valley
  Regional Planning Agency  for a Regional
  Brownfields Pilot. Naugatuck River Valley has a
  long history of industrial development and contains
  atleast 168 contaminated sites. In 1992, there was
  a 9.9 percent unemployment rate in the Central
  Valley.  The depressed economy typifies the
  troubled economy of the State. Current projections
  for job growth in Connecticut through year 2010
  are the lowest in the nation. The Pilot will focus on
  two or three sites within the 45-mile long valley,
  that will be selected through an advisory committee
  including members from participating towns.

  OBJECTIVES

  The intent of the  Valley Regional  Planning
  Agency's brownfields effort is to assess cleanup
  and reuse contaminated land and water  in the
  Valley.  The Valley Regional Planning Agency
  will establish  and maintain a  Regional
  Environmental Redevelopment Agency (RERA)
  to act as the primary brownfields broker and
  redevelopment facilitator for the Naugatuck Valley.
  The Pilot plans to establish selection criteria to
  identify priority sites for redevelopment, thereby
  facilitating remediation and redevelopment by
 PILOT SNAPSHOT
                    Date of Award:
                    September 1996

                    Amount: $90,000
                   Site Profile: The Pilot
                   targets two or three
                   brownfields with
                   redevelopment potential
                   within the 45-mile Valley.
  Naugatuck Valley,
    Connecticut
Contacts:

Richard Eigen
Valley Regional
Planning Agency
(203) 735-8688
John Podgurski
U.S. EPA-Region 1
(617)573-9681
podgurski.john@
epamail.epa.gov
       Visit the EPA Brownfields Website at:
       http://www.epa.gov/brownfields

-------
assessing these sites, identifying potential purchasers,
and designing a regional land-use plan.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

The Pilot has:

• Received commitments from eightmunicipalities in
 the Valley to be participating members of RERA.
 Seeking participation of other municipalities; and

• Prepared and distributed a communications package
 that included  several  fact  sheets describing  the
 function of RERA and key brownfields-related topics
 to various businesses, community, and governmental
 groups.

The Pilot is:

• Establishing site selection criteria and identifying
 priority sites for brownfields redevelopment;

• Planning to conduct environmental assessments at
 priority sites;

• Working to  expand  community awareness of
 brownfields and the environmentthrough additional
 outreach planning; and

• Planning to develop a comprehensive remediation
 and development strategy for two or three sites.
 This will include consideration of alternative own-
 ership mechanisms that address liability limitations,
 interim financing, sale contracts, and local authority
 approvals.

LEVERAGING OTHER ACTIVITIES

Experience with the Naugatuck Valley Pilot has been
a catalyst for related activities including the following.

• RERA is working with the State of Connecticut to
 establish a revolving loan fund that could be used to
 finance brownfields redevelopment projects within
 the Naugatuck Valley.
Developing other services to assist municipalities
and private parties in  redeveloping brownfields
sites. These services include creating: (l)arevolving
loan fund; (2) a voluntary clearinghouse of available
brownfields properties; (3) a technical assistance
service available to municipalities seeking to acquire
abandoned properties;  and  (4)  ad hoc advisory
councilsto help resolve future redevelopmentissues.
 Regional Brownfields Assessment Pilot
 May 1997
                     Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut
                             EPA 500-F-97-058

-------