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EPA TO ASSIST IN REDEVELOPING CONTAMINATED PROPERTY IN PROSPECT, CT

Release Date: 04/07/1999
Contact Information: Alice Kaufman, EPA Press Office, (617) 918-1064

BOSTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's New England Office announced today that property owned by U.S. Cap, Inc., located at 214 New Haven Road in Prospect, Connecticut, is one of the four abandoned, contaminated sites in New England that will be assessed as part of EPA's Brownfields program. The property is an abandoned 5-acre former commercial property that the town of Prospect wants to redevelop for new commercial use.

EPA will invest $300,000 in this round of funding to assess environmental conditions of specific sites in three New England communities B Prospect, CT, Franklin, NH, and Boston, MA. Since January, 1999, EPA has committed a total of $1.12 million to redevelop New England Brownfields sites. EPA estimates the site assessment cost for the U.S. Cap project to be $75,000.

"This is an investment in New England's urban centers. Suburban sprawl threatens our environmental and economic future. One way to control sprawl is to reuse forgotten, abandoned urban properties and turn them into urban economic development opportunities," said John P. DeVillars, EPA's New England Administrator. "Brownfields redevelopment is an example of smart economics and smart growth. These site assessments are important steps towards reuse of these properties."

"This is terrific news for Prospect and the entire New England region," said U.S. Senator Chris Dodd. "Brownfields initiatives weed out run down and abandoned properties, and plant new economic vitality and growth in their place."

"I am pleased to learn that the U.S. Cap, Inc., property was chosen for this environmental assessment grant," said U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman. "Reuse of the U.S. Cap site will be an economic asset to Prospect and serve as a model for smart community growth around the country."

"Developing Brownfields encourages the revitalization of urban areas, creates new jobs, and helps clean up the environment as well," said U.S. Congressman Jim Maloney. "I am encouraged by the EPA's commitment to revitalizing this site in Prospect. It is critically important for the health of our communities to foster and maintain economic vitality while doing good for the environment."

Brownfields are abandoned or under-used industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is being thwarted by real or perceived environmental contamination. EPA's Brownfields program has evolved into a collaborative effort involving more than 15 federal partners.

EPA-New England has helped communities restore and develop dozens of contaminated urban properties across New England, resulting in the creation of thousands of jobs and generating millions of dollars in income and revenue.

Under the agency's Brownfields program, environmental consultants contracted by EPA will perform the assessments B valued at approximately $75,000 each B to determine the nature and extent of contamination on the properties, and to estimate the costs of cleaning up the site for redevelopment. The assessments, which are scheduled to begin by early summer, generally take several months to complete.