The former Ansonia Foundry on Pleasant Street.
ANSONIA – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it would give the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG) $500,000 to conduct environmental assessments on two contaminated properties in Ansonia.
The money will also be used for similar projects on Factory Street in Derby and in downtown Waterbury.
The award is part of $233 million awarded across the nation last month as part of the EPA’s brownfields grant program. Those grants are awarded to aid assessment and cleanup on sites affected by former industrial uses, many of which remain contaminated with heavy metals and other toxic leftovers.
The two Ansonia properties named in the grant application are 36 Pleasant St. – the site of the former Ansonia Foundry – and 106 — 145 Olson Dr., the former location of the Riverside Apartments federal housing complex.
Contamination has been found at each of the two properties, and the assessment work is necessary so that new projects can go ahead at each one.
On Olson Drive, a Bridgeport developer is working with the city to rehab the site into a sports complex. Contaminants found there include asbestos and PAHs, which are a common byproduct of burning materials at waste sites.
However, Ansonia’s economic development director Sheila O’Malley said in a phone call with The Valley Indy that the assessment work is already fully funded without the grant. She said that she would be in talks with NVCOG to find other ways to spend money earmarked for it.
On Pleasant Street, a Long Island countertop maker is hoping to use the former foundry as a workspace for his business. PAHs and other metal contaminants were also found there, according to NVCOG’s application.
That countertop maker had originally hoped to move in by April or May – but the move-in appears to be on hold while this work is completed.
The NVCOG announced the funding in a press release on May 29.
“This funding from the EPA is a significant investment in the future of our region,” the press release quotes Rick Dunne, NVCOG’s executive director, as saying. “We are grateful for the support of the EPA and our federal delegation in our ongoing efforts to revitalize brownfield sites and transform them into vibrant, sustainable spaces for our communities.”
The assessments will take place concurrently alongside removal and remediation work. On Olson Drive, the city has been excavating contaminated soil since last fall.
The Olson Drive project is also operating on a deadline. The developer signed a contract with Olé Football Club to offer programming in Ansonia for the coming fall.
Olé’s website still says that they are coming soon to Ansonia. O’Malley said that having the site in usable shape by this fall is still feasible, despite the remediation work exceeding the developer’s original timeline.
