w5
Brownfields 2005 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet
Winchester, 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 Winchester was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant. Winchester (population
10,600), located in the northwest corner of Connecticut,
typifies the traditional New England mill town. Once
successful manufacturing facilities, many located along
the Mad and Still Rivers, have closed, leaving behind
vacant, deteriorated, and often boarded up structures. This
predominantly blue-collar town has experienced a decline
in population, and now has a higher than average
unemployment rate, and lower than average income. In
addition to being a blight, brownfields properties pose a
potential risk to the local rivers and the community
because of the historical use of hazardous materials in
many of the industrial facilities that once occupied the
area. The properties include a site next to a hotel and
conference center currently under development, a former
transfer storage facility flanked by multi-family dwellings
and offices, and other contaminated commercial sites with
known hazardous substances contamination that pose a
threat to adjacent properties. Assessment and cleanup of
these sites will allow the town to develop reuse plans for
the sites and link these plans to Winchester's other
revitalization efforts. The town expects that
redevelopment will attract private investment to the
community, creating new jobs, and increasing property
values and the tax base.
Assessment Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Town of Winchester for a
brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous
substances grant funds will be used to conduct
community outreach and education; perform
Phase I, II, and III environmental site assessments;
and conduct feasibility studies to select preferred
remedial technology alternatives for sites that
require cleanup.
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 Winchester,CT
(860)738-6593
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
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 560-F-05-009
May 2005

-------
United States	c
Environmental	anri Fmpflpn™	EPA 560-F-05-009
Protection Agency	Response (5105T)	May 2005
Washington, DC 20450	Kesponse (si us )

-------