Funds are being drawn from the Connecticut Brownfield Remediation program. A total of $6.5 million will be earmarked for remediation projects and $1 million will be used for assessment projects.
According to the announcement, eligible applicants for grant funding include municipalities and economic development agencies. Grant applicants can request funding of up to $2 million for remediation projects and up to $200,000 for assessment projects.
DECD Deputy Commissioner Tim Sullivan said there has been a proven economic benefit to the brownfields funding provided by the state. “For projects funded in the last fiscal year, $6.53 was committed by non-state partners for every dollar invested by the state. We look forward to working with cities and towns to bring even more sites back to life through this new round of funding,” he said in a statement.
Last week, the EPA awarded $650,000 in brownfield cleanup money to remediate two sites in Bridgeport and New Haven. The City of Bridgeport will receive $400,000 while REX Development of New Haven will receive $250,000 in grants to remediate contaminated sites in their cities.
Connecticut currently has more than 100 brownfield-remediation projects in all corners of the state. The EPA estimates there are 450,000 brownfields in the United States.
There is a deadline of Nov. 16, 2015 to submit requests for the state funds.
