Courtney Announces $800,000 for Brownfield Cleanup in Preston and New London

NORWICH, CT—Today Congressman Joe Courtney announced $600,000 in brownfield remediation grants to the town of Preston from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The three sites targeted for cleanup are part of the former Norwich Hospital property, which closed in 1966. Additionally, the City of New London will receive $200,000 for brownfield site assessments.

"These grants provide communities such as Preston and New London a fighting chance to revive abandoned property and promote economic growth,” Congressman Courtney said. “EPA New England administrator Kurt Spalding personally visited the Norwich Hospital site a few years ago at my invitation to see both the challenges and the opportunities that parcel offers to the region. The key to unlocking its potential is to cleanse its legacy contaminants. For all involved in both communities, winning these highly competitive grants is a great victory and a great step forward."

“This is the fifth time that EPA has provided funding to Preston for the remediation of Preston Riverwalk to get it shovel-ready, and the financial support has provided momentum to return this land to productive use,” said Robert Congdon, First Selectman of Preston. “It is great news that Preston will be the recipient of these three grants. We could not have done it without help from Congressman Courtney, whose support has resulted in a strong partnership among Preston residents, the state of Connecticut, and the federal EPA to prepare this site for productive reuse creating positive economic impact and much needed new jobs.”

“We are tremendously grateful to Congressman Courtney for his help in securing this grant. New London has very little land, and we can’t afford to let any of it go to waste,” said New London Mayor Daryl Finizio. “With this funding, we’ll be able to clean up contaminants from our industrial past and finally develop property which has long stood vacant.”

In January, Congressman Courtney sent a letter to New England Brownfield Coordinator Frank Gardner in support of the town of Preston’s application for the brownfield grant. For each of the three $200,000 cleanup grants, the town will match $40,000 to abate hazardous building materials.

In Preston, the $600,000 in grant funds will support cleanup of the properties at 25 Riverview Way, 3.7 acres; 15 Fort Point Road, 26.5 acres; and 46 Route 12, 7.8 acres. The cleanup sites are contaminated with PCBs, mercury, and other metals. Grant funds also will be used to conduct community involvement activities.

In New London, community-wide hazardous substances grant funds will be used to conduct five Phase I and three Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to update the city’s brownfields inventory, prepare up to two cleanup plans, and conduct community outreach activities.