$10 million Awarded to Clean up Brownfield Sites

Senator Tony Guglielmo (R-Stafford) applauds the administration for awarding the town of Vernon a $2 million loan for the remediation and reuse of the Hockanum Mill in Rockville. The former mill will house commercial and light industrial uses. “These funds will have immediate impact for the municipalities—allowing them to pursue community revitalization and remediate blighted properties,” said Governor Malloy. “Cleaning up pollution on these sites is a fundamental part of strengthening our economy and boosting economic growth. These investments continue our efforts to restore abandoned properties to productive use.” “This has been a project the community has wanted to start for a long time. I’m happy that we could help get the ball rolling on such an important piece of environmental and economic development in our district,” said Sen. Guglielmo. Governor Dannel P. Malloy, joined by Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) Commissioner Catherine Smith, announced that DECD awarded $10,507,339 in loans and grants to remediate nine brownfields located throughout the state including Vernon. Clinton, Hartford, Middletown, New Haven, Waterbury, and Watertown will also use the funding to clean up the polluted properties and redevelop the sites for affordable housing and mixed use development. “The Malloy administration has made a tremendous commitment to cleaning up brownfields,” said Catherine Smith, DECD Commissioner. “In the past fiscal year, DECD has announced more than $35 million for remediation and redevelopment work at 46 different sites—these are areas where environmental hazards are greatly reducing the impact these sites could have on local economies. That investment has leveraged more than $508 million additional private and federal dollars, and has helped clean up approximately 385 acres in Connecticut.” The grants are going directly to municipalities to fund a wide range of activities including environmental assessment, planning, design, remediation, demolition, construction, and acquisition.