TO
  Brownfields  2005

  Grant  Fact  Sheet

        Capitol Region

            Council of

        Governments,

  Metropolitan Hartford

           Region,  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 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
  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 involve-
  ment and outreach activities.
  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.
machining and aerospace, two of its core industries.
There also was a nearly 13 percent drop in employ-
ment 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 infrastruc-
ture, thereby reducing greenspace and endangering the
                                               Solid Waste and
                                               Emergency Response
                                               (5105T)
                       EPA 560-F-05-069
                       May 2005
                       www.epa.gov/brownfields

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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.

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