Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced that the state will be distributing $540,000 in federal brownfield funding to help Willimantic and two other Connecticut towns assess and remediate brownfields for important economic and community development projects.

 

Brownfields – parcels of contaminated land, often former industrial sites – can be cleaned up and turned into economic development opportunities, open space and other productive uses.

 

In Willimantic, Willimantic Whitewater Partnership, Inc. is receiving $120,000 to complete environmental site assessments on the site and remove underground storage tanks at 28 Bridge Street.

 

“Thanks to the funding, the partnership will be able to complete the environmental investigations needed and develop a plan of action for the property, which was part of a 19th-century textile mill and home to an oil delivery service in the 1960s,” Governor Rell said. “Willimantic Whitewater plans to create Willimantic River access, a park with picnic areas, a trail, welcome center with retail space and restoration of the river with fish passage facilities.

 

“With the global economic slump continuing to put enormous pressure on Connecticut families and employers, we are doing everything we can to help keep and create jobs,” the Governor said. “Continued investment helps these communities capitalize on existing assets and lays the foundation for a strong recovery. That is really why brownfields are such an attractive proposition – we are taking property that is not ‘working’ at its full potential and converting it into a community resource that reduces sprawl, preserves natural resources and creates economic opportunity for all.”

 

Governor Rell thanked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which provided $600,000 in supplemental funding to the state’s Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund in August. The Department of Economic and Community Development, which administers the revolving loan fund, selected the projects.

 

Other projects will clean up the Remington Rand site in Middletown and a parcel on Bridge Street in Montville.