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                            (3
 Brownfields  2005
 Grant  Fact  Sheet
      Winchester,  CT
EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders in economic development
to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up,
and sustainably reuse brownfields. Abrownfield 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. Addi-
tionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal
response programs through a separate mechanism.

Community Description

The Town of Winchester was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant. Winchester (population
10,600), located in the northwest corner of Connecti-
cut, typifies the traditional New England mill town.
Once successful manufacturing facilities, many located
along the Mad and Still Rivers, have closed, leaving
behind vacant, deteriorated, and often boarded up
structures. This predominantly blue-collar town has
experienced a decline in population, and now has a
higher than average unemployment rate, and lower
than average income. In addition to being a blight,
brownfields properties pose a potential risk to the local
rivers and the community because of the historical use
of hazardous materials in many of the industrial
                         J
   Assessment Grant
  New"
12005/j
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   $200,000 for hazardous substances
   EPA has selected the Town of Winchester for a
   brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous sub-
   stances grant funds will be used to conduct
   community outreach and education; perform
   Phase I, II, and III environmental site assess-
   ments; and conduct feasibility studies to select
   preferred remedial technology alternatives for
   sites that require cleanup.
   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: Town of Winchester, CT
   860-738-6593

   The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
   yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
   in this fact sheet are subject to change.
facilities that once occupied the area. The properties
include a site next to a hotel and conference center
currently under development, a former transfer storage
facility flanked by multi-family dwellings and offices,
and other contaminated commercial sites with known
hazardous substances contamination that pose a threat
to adjacent properties. Assessment and cleanup of
these sites will allow the town to develop reuse plans
for the sites and link these plans to Winchester's other
revitalization efforts. The town expects that redevelop-
ment will attract private investment to the community,
creating new jobs, and increasing property values and
the tax base.
                                                  Solid Waste and
                                                  Emergency Response
                                                  (5105T)
                         EPA 560-F-05-009
                         May 2005
                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

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