&EPA
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA500-F-98-130
May 1998
Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
New Britain, CT
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101)
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower states, communities, and other
stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and
sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and
an active potential for redevelopment or reuse. Since 1995, EPA has funded more than 150 Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations of
brownfields solutions. The Pilots are intended to provide EPA, states, tribes, municipalities, and communities with useful
information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods to promote a unified approach to site assessment,
environmental cleanup, and redevelopment.
BACKGROUND
EPA has selected the City of New Britain for a
Brownfields Pilot. Historically, New Britain's
prosperity was linked with the manufacture of small
hardware parts and tools. The exodus of this industry
left more than 600,000 square feet of vacant
manufacturing space. Now the city (population
approximately 75,000) has the highest unemployment
rate in the state and a high concentration of low-
income families. New Britain has been identified as
a Distressed City and an Urban Enterprise Zone.
Since properties are unavailable for new development,
the success of their revitalization depends on the
reuse of vacant brownfields. Fear of environmental
contamination has inhibited redevelopment efforts
to date.
New Britain has selected six priority sites for
brownfields cleanup and redevelopment. Two of the
targeted sites are located in the city's Technology
Corridor—the former Russell Erwin factory and the
Orange and Grove Street properties. The other four
targeted properties are brownfields that the city is
considering acquiring through tax foreclosure—the
South Street vacant factory, the Veterans Drive
Triangle, and two abandoned dry cleaning sites, one
on North and Oak Streets and one on West Main
Street.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
New Britain, Connecticut
Date of Announcement:
May 1998
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
six abandoned and
underutilized properties
along the city's
Technology Corridor.
Contacts:
Commission on
Community and
Neighborhood
Development
City of New Britain
(860) 826-3330
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 1
(617)573-9681
Visit the EPA Region 1 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region01/remed/brnfld/
For further information, including specific Pilot contacts,
additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and
publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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OBJECTIVES
The objective ofthe Pilotisto stimulate environmental
cleanup and economic redevelopment of brownfields
by resolving uncertainty about the extent of
contamination. The Pilot will accomplish this
objective by assessing the six targeted sites,
developing cleanup strategies, and providing
information about cleanup and redevelopment
progress to the community.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Performing Phase I environmental assessments at
the six targeted sites, and at properties considered
for acquisition due to unpaid taxes, to determine
whether cleanup is necessary;
• Performing Phase II environmental assessments at
those sites where sampling data are needed;
• Developing cleanup strategies and cost estimates
for at least three sites;
• Conducting four community meetings to describe
the brownfields program and update the community
regarding cleanup and redevelopmentprogress. The
Pilot will also prepare and maintain a mailing list of
affected residents and distribute progress fact sheets;
• Creating a community-based Brownfields
Awareness and Education Program to reduce the
fear associated with brownfields redevelopment
projects for both developers and local residents, and
to educate the local community on economic
revitalization, environmental awareness, and
historical/heritage preservation; and
• Constructing a master development plan and
catalogue, which will identify funds and resources
for brownfields development to be used in
conjunction with the city's geographic information
system (GIS).
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been
negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet
are subject to change.
Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot New Britain, Connecticut
May 1998 EPA 500-F-98-130
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