Photo: Eugene Driscoll
Arthur Bogen with a ceremonial check from the federal EPA.
DERBY — A nonprofit organization led by a Derby native received a $300,000 federal grant to coordinate the investigation and cleanup contaminated properties, including in Ansonia and Derby.
The ultimate goal is to get the properties in the hands of private developers and then back on the tax rolls.
Arthur Bogen’s nonprofit Connecticut Brownfield Land Bank, Inc. is the only nonprofit in New England to receive a highly competitive Brownfield grant — and one of just two nonprofits in the entire U.S. to receive the money.
According to a press release from the federal Environmental Protection Agency, $300,000 will be used for environmental efforts in Ansonia, Derby, Torrington and Waterbury.
A separate $300,000 grant is going to the Town of Stafford to help properties there.
A bevy of federal and state environmental officials, along with the Valley’s state delegation and local leaders, were on hand for a press conference Thursday in Derby City Hall for an official announcement.
In Derby, the money will be used for the Derby Redevelopment Zone, a corridor that stretches along the south side of Main Street from the Derby-Shelton bridge to the area of the former Lifetouch property.
Bogen said it’s not known at this point on what specific property Ansonia will use the money.
Bogen’s nonprofit, started initially with helpful grants from The Valley Community Foundation and The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, acts as the town’s agent when it comes to dealing with contaminated properties, of which Ansonia and Derby have a bunch.
Bogen’s history with snagging grants and managing environmental assessments and cleanups goes back decades in the Naugatuck Valley.
“I like to call Arthur Bogen the grandfather of Brownfields because he has been involved since the get go,” said James P. Byrne, an environmental scientist with the EPA’s New England Region. “He gets it. He knows what he’s talking about. And he gets results.”
The Naugatuck Valley has a rich industrial history — but one that has also left polluted soil and rivers.
It’s tough to get people to invest in old, large industrial properties because buying a contaminated property carries great financial risk. The government money is meant to find out what’s in the ground, then provide money to take care of the problem.
Otherwise the properties sit lifeless for decades — which has also happened in both Ansonia and Derby.
But the Shelton Housatonic River front has been revitalized, and Derby badly wants that Shelton magic to finally spread across the river.
Derby’s redevelopment zone carries a stigma because so many officials have promised so much over the years with incremental results.
“That’s why it’s exciting to see the EPA putting in seed money to start doing the legwork to let the developers know what’s underneath the ground,” Derby Mayor Rich Dziekan said. “This will let a developer know there won’t be any surprises.”
Dziekan said that in addition to the redevelopment zone, the city is itching to get a dilapidated property up the road on Caroline Street back into the hands of a private developer and back on the tax rolls. Some assessment work is needed there, too, Dziekan said.
“It takes a village — but what it really takes is funding,” said Deb Szaro, EPA New England’s acting regional administrator.
Elected officials at Derby City Hall included state Reps. Nicole Klarides-Ditria and Kara Rochelle, state House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, and state Sen. George Logan. Representatives from U.S. Rep Rosa DeLauro’s office were present, as were representatives sent by U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal.
Elected officials on the federal level played a large part in making the new Brownfield grants possible. They passed the BUILD Act in 2018, which pumped more money into Brownfields and made it possible for nonprofit groups to qualify for the grants.
