WATERBURY– Today, Congresswoman Hayes (CT-05) announced that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has selected the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG) for an $800,000 Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund Grant.
“I am pleased that the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments will be receiving an EPA grant to help remediate the Brownfields in Connecticut,” said Congresswoman Hayes. “In both Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021, I made it a top priority to secure robust, increased funding for EPA’s Brownfields cleanup programs. As Mayor and Chair of the Council of Governments, Neil O’Leary has been a champion in helping to clean up Brownfields in Waterbury, and the Naugatuck Valley, and I look forward to continuing to work with him on this effort.”
The grant will be used to capitalize a revolving loan fund from which the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments will provide loans and subgrants to support cleanup activities. Grant funds also will be used to conduct community outreach activities. Revolving loan fund activities will focus on the City of Waterbury’s Brownfields Corridor, which contains more than 45 acres of closed metal manufacturing and foundry sites within the low-income, minority South End neighborhood and five Qualified Opportunity Zones.
The EPA will be awarding over $65 million in Brownfields grants to over 150 different communities across the county.
EPA’s Brownfields program empowers states and communities to assess and clean up hazards in local communities. A brownfield is a formerly contaminated site that, once cleaned up, can be repurposed or reused – not only cleaning up the environment but allowing these properties to be used for economic development in communities. This creates jobs, helps local economies, increases tax bases, and opens new opportunities for previously un-used areas. To date, EPA’s Brownfields program has helped clean up over 2,000 properties and leverage more than 160,000 jobs.
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Rep. Jahana Hayes has been a public school teacher in Connecticut for more than 15 years and was recognized in 2016 as the National Teacher of the Year.
Currently serving her first term in the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Hayes sits on the Committees on Education & Labor and Agriculture and proudly represents Connecticut’s 5th District.