u o Brownfields Supplemental Assistance City of Winsted, CT BACKGROUND EPA awarded the City of Winsted supplemental assistance for its Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot. Winsted is a predominantly blue-collar town of 10,600 located in the northwest corner of Connecticut. At one time, the city's mills produced a wide variety of goods, ranging from pins and textiles to clocks and small appliances. Many of these factories were located on the Mad River, and a variety of contaminants have infiltrated into the soil and groundwater. Now many of the old factories are empty, and boarded up buildings pose health and safety risks and contribute to blight. Classified as a distressed community by the State of Connecticut, Winsted's unemployment rate is 4.3 percent compared to three percent statewide, and per capita income is significantly less than the statewide average. The city lost population between 1990 and 2000, and its labor force shrank while Connecticut's labor force grew during the same period. OBJECTIVES AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES Winsted plans to use the supplemental assistance to continue performing Phase I, II, and III environmental site assessments at sites within the city's Northwestern Community College Redevelopment Area, the Main Street Enhancement Project Area, and the Commercial Redevelopment Area. Priority sites include properties that have been used in the past for industrial manufacturing, boat repair, furniture stripping, and alumber yard. Planned reuses for these sites include a42-unithousing development, a college training facility with a parking area, and a proposed auction house. By removing uncertainty about environmental contamination of these sites, the Pilot will clear the way for subsequent cleanup and redevelopment of these parcels. PILOT SNAPSHOT City of Winsted, Connecticut Date of Announcement: May 2002 Amount: $150,000 Profile: Winsted plans to conduct Phase I, II, and III environmental site assessments at priority sites that are key to the city's redevelopment strategy. Contacts: City of Winsted (860)379-8771 Regional Brownfields Team U.S. EPA Region 1 (617)918-1394 Visit the E PA Region 1 Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/region01/brownfields/ Forfurther information, including specific Pilot contacts, additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/brownfields Activities planned as part of this Pilot include: • Completing eightPhase I environmental site assessments; • Conducting Phase II environmental site assessments at four to six priority sites; • Completing cleanup feasibility studies/Phase III environmental site assessments at four sites; and ------- • Involving the community and sharing information about the Pilot through public meetings, fact sheets, and a web site. Thecooperativeagreementforthis Pilot hasnotyetbeen negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change. Solid Waste EPA 500-F-02-082 and Emergency May 2002 Response (5105) www.epa.gov/brownfields/ ------- |