I jBt; | Brownfields 2005 Cleanup Grant Fact Sheet New Milford, CT EPA Brownfields Program EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield 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. Additionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism. Community Description The Town of New Milford was selected to receive a brownfields cleanup grant. Geographically, New Milford (population 27,121) is the largest town in Connecticut. Although the town's population has grown by 15 percent in the last ten years, its commercial and industrial growth has lagged during the last two decades. New Milford's largest employer recently laid off about 450 employees. An additional 100 jobs will be lost at another large employer in 2005. At least 62 percent of all of New Milford workers work out of town. The neighborhood around the 72-acre Century Enterprise Center (CEC) site has substandard housing and high unemployment, and is home to many of the town's minority residents. If the old mill site continues to deteriorate, it poses a potential threat to groundwater and nearby residents. Once cleaned up, the town plans to reuse the CEC site, which is strategically located along an existing freight line, as an industrial or distribution facility. This reuse would generate significant tax revenues for the town and create up to 100 new jobs. Once the CEC site is put into productive use, the town anticipates that further development around it will generate hundreds of desirable jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenues. Cleanup Grant $200,000 for hazardous substances EPA has selected the Town of New Milford for a brownfields cleanup grant. Grant funds will be used toward Phase II of the interior cleanup of the Century Enterprise Center, which housed a brass and copper tubing mill from 1958 to 1985. This phase will address PCB contamination of the concrete building slab and other contamination found in the structure and in abandoned equipment and scrap metal. 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 (http://www.epa.gov/brownfields). EPA Region 1 Brownfields Team (617) 918-1424 EPA Region 1 Brownfields Web site (http://www.epa.gov/regionl/bro wnfields ) Grant Recipient: Town of New Milford,CT (860)355-6081 The information presented in this fact sheet comes from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. The cooperative agreement for the grant has not yet been negotiated. Therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change. United States c Environmental anri Fmpflpn™ EPA 560-F-05-007 Protection Agency Response (5105T) May 2005 Washington, DC 20450 Kesponse (si us ) ------- |