The Waterbury Republican-American is reporting that a $200 million brownfield study is in limbo these days.
The Brownfields Task Force is urging Gov. M. Jodi Rell and the legislature to approve the initial $200 million investment that the study group proposed last year.
“If we don’t, what we will have is slow growth or no growth. These areas and these properties will continue to deteriorate, no added taxes, jobs, community benefits, and other states will definitely leap ahead of us, and, in fact, they already are,” said Ann M. Catino, the task force’s co-chair.
The Rell administration, however, is unwilling to take that step at this time.
Catino and Gary O’Connor, the task force’s other co-chair, warned the legislature’s Commerce Committee on Thursday that the lack of funding makes the state’s commitment to clean and redevelop polluted sites, known as brownfields, look shaky.
Legislation before the committee proposes to set up an independent $75 million fund for brownfield programs in the Department of Economic and Community Development. The committee heard testimony on the bill on Thursday.
The $18.6 billion budget that Rell and lawmakers set for 2009 last year was $28.2 million under the spending cap. Rell proposed changes to the legislature that would bring the 2009 budget to $20 million below the cap.
The Brownfields Task Force is recommending the state initially provide $75 million for a financial-assistance program for cleaning up and redeveloping polluted properties. The group then wants the state to provide $25 million a year for the next five years.
That article appeared on Feb. 29. Then there’s this one:
The Rell administration is unwilling to support a five-year, $200 million plan that Brownfields Task Force proposed for getting Connecticut started.
It is unclear how much the administration is willing to spend at this time.
“We can do what we what we are able to afford to do,” Rell said Friday.
Brownfields are contaminated properties, such as former factories and landfills. Because of the state’s long industrial history, there are probably tens of thousands of sites which are or may be polluted, according to the Department of Environmental Protection’s Web site.
In the last two years, Rell and the legislature created new organizations, programs and practices to clean and redevelop these polluted parcels. In November, Rell signed a bonding bill that authorized $14 million over two years for a revolving loan fund and a pilot assistance program for municipalities.
Rell has yet to release any of that money through the State Bond Commission. However, the assistance may start flowing soon, said Joan McDonald, commissioner of the Department Economic and Community Development.
The department plans to release application and other guidelines in the next two weeks.
“We are looking for ’shovel-ready’ projects so that we can actually get the money to the municipalities and to the developers to get the projects moving,” McDonald said.
Methinks that Waterbury is filled with brownfields. But perhaps the shovel-ready aspect of this bodes well for Norwalk.
source: Republican-American, Gov. Rell won’t support $200 million brownfield plan , BY PAUL HUGHES, March 1, 2008
source: Republican-American, Report: Brownfield programs are underfunded , BY PAUL HUGHES, February 29, 2008
