^
                          (3
 Brownfields 2005

 Grant Fact Sheet

     Valley Council of

       Governments,

Naugatuck Valley,  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 Valley Council of Governments (VCOG) was
selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant.
VCOG serves 25 communities representing 623,875
residents in the Naugatuck Valley. The VCOG was
once a center of manufacturing. Today, abandoned and
contaminated brownfields properties are scattered
throughout the valley. Several downtown areas have
more land in brownfields than in productive use. A
large immigrant population of Muslim, Hispanic, and
Portuguese residents occupy older housing stock in
brownfields neighborhoods in the inner city. The
                        J
  Assessment Grant    (2005'f
                                   *T t
  $200,000 for hazardous substances

  EPA has selected the Valley Council of Govern-
  ments for a brownfields assessment grant. Grant
  funds will be used to conduct Phase I, II, and III
  site assessments and develop conceptual remedial
  action plans in the communities represented by
  the council.
  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: Valley Council of Governments,
  CT
  203-735-8688

  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
  yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
  in this fact sheet are subject to change.
minority populations in some of the VCOG communi-
ties are as high as 39 percent. Asthma rates are high in
neighborhoods where residents are exposed to a full
range of wastes and chemicals associated with the
area's industrial activities. Assessment and cleanup of
the brownfields sites will help the municipalities
address the potential health risks and reduce the blight
in neighborhoods throughout the valley. Redevelopment
of the sites will generate tax revenues and create job
opportunities in an area that is straining to provide
services for its residents.
                                               Solid Waste and
                                               Emergency Response
                                               (5105T)
                       EPA 560-F-05-070
                       May 2005
                       www.epa.gov/brownfields

-------