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  Brownfields  2006

  Grant  Fact  Sheet

          Meriden,  CT


EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders 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 City of Meriden was selected to receive a
brownfields cleanup grant. Located in central Con-
necticut, Meriden (population 58,244) is a struggling
industrial-based city that has seen a decline in manu-
facturing, resulting in brownfields throughout the city.
Approximately 11 percent of residents live below the
poverty level, 20.3 percent of residents are minorities,
and the per capita income is only 74 percent of the
state level. The poorest residents in the community
live near the city's blighted and contaminated indus-
trial and commercial properties, and have the highest
unemployment rates. Brownfields contamination and
flood control issues that pose threats to human health
and the environment have been significant barriers to
the city's economic development plans. The city plans
to transform the blighted, vacant property into a park.
  Cleanup  Grant
  $200,000 for hazardous substances
  EPA has selected the City of Meriden for a
  brownfields cleanup grant. Hazardous substances
  grant funds will be used to clean up the HUB site
  at 1 and 77 State Street, a former mixed-use site
  contaminated by metals, vinyl chloride, and other
  hazardous substances. Grant funds will be used to
  remove and dispose of contaminated soil, per-
  form groundwater sampling, and conduct com-
  munity involvement 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
  617-918-1424
  http://www.epa.gov/region01/brownfields/

  Grant Recipient: City of Meriden, CT
  203-630-4151

  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
  yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
  in this fact sheet are subject to change.
This brownfields redevelopment project will provide
local residents access to open space for community
gatherings. Most importantly, the cleanup will remove a
contaminated former industrial facility from the heart of
the city. It will also create jobs, mitigate flooding,
produce economic returns, and increase the quality of
life for residents.
                                                  Solid Waste and
                                                  Emergency Response
                                                  (5105T)
                          EPA 560-F-06-003
                          May 2006
                          www.epa.gov/brownfields

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