EPA Remediates Former Merriam Manufacturing

The remediation of the former Merriam Manufacturing Company/Durham Manufacturing Company on Main Street is in progress with completion expected by the end of 2011.

The Merriam Manufacturing Company was established in 1851 and manufactured metal displays and boxes, according to the EPA historical timeline of the project. Wastewater containing dissolved organic solvents and paint wastes were disposed of in lagoons from 1973 to 1982. In another area, paint wastes and degreasing solvents were stored on the ground in drums. Most of Merriam Manufacturing Company's facilities burned in 1998, and the company has relocated its operations. The Durham Manufacturing Company was established in 1922 and continues to operate as a manufacturer of metal boxes. Wastewater and waste sludge was disposed of in sludge drying beds, and wastes have also been stored on that site in drums. Many residents in the area are using private wells. The site is less than 0.5 miles from the Coginchaug River to the west and currently borders on the Allyn Brook to the south. A freshwater wetland is located on the Durham Manufacturing Company property.

The site is being addressed in two stages: initial actions and a long-term remedial phase focusing on cleanup of the entire site.

EPA began on-site cleanup work at the Merriam Manufacturing Company Study Area in May 2011 with demolition of the warehouse building in June 2011 and soil excavation in July 2011. EPA expects all soil excavation work to be complete by the end of calendar year 2011.

Brownfields And Technical Assistance

The next round of Groundwork USA Pilot Funding and Tehnical Assistance has been posted by the National Park Service on the federal grants site www.grants.gov.

Note that a community must have received or be receiving funding from the EPA Brownfields Program to be eligible for the Groundwork USA Initiative.

For the latest information on the work of the Groundwork USA Network, see www.groundworkusa.org.

The due date for the initial letters of interest is June 16, 2010.

More information on the USEPA Brownfields Program can be found at
www.epa.gov/brownfields

What's The Deal Energy Conference

The 10h Annual What's the Deal? Energy Conference is Wed. Oct. 14, at the Crowne Plaza, Cromwell.

Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA) and the Connecticut Power and Energy Society (CPES) join to bring business owners energy-efficient technologies to financial aid for business consumers.

Registration and breakfast at 7:30 a.m.

Noted speakers/panelists include Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Connecticut's fomer commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, will update attendees on current federal energy and environmental policy initiatives.

Bradford Nordholm, CEO and managing director, Starwood Energy Group, an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group Global, LLC, a private equity investment firm based in Greenwich, that specializes in energy infrastructure investments. Founded in 2005, Starwood Energy represents nearly $4.9 billion in enterprise value and has developed a deep pipeline of power/energy investment opportunities. This past spring, Starwood Energy signed a power purchase agreement with Arizona Public Service Co. to build the world's largest dispatchable solar plant.

For information contact Lise Cliche at lise.cliche@cbia.com or call (860) 244-1977.

Brownfields: Economic Development Potential

The FY 2010 Guidelines for Brownfields Job Training Grants has been posted to the brownfields site at http://www.epa.gov/oswer/docs/grants/epa-oswer-oblr-09-07.pdf

The proposal deadline is Dec. 1, 2009.

Grants are funded up to $200,000 over two years to "bring together community groups, job training organizations, educators, labor groups, investors, lenders, developers, and other affected parties to address the issue of providing environmental employment and training for residents in communities impacted by brownfields."

EPA's Brownfields Program is an organized commitment to help communities revitalize brownfields properties both environmentally and economically, mitigate potential health risks, and restore economic vitality to areas where brownfields exist.

EPA Environmental Job Creation Applications

EPA is accepting applications from eligible governmental entities and nonprofit organizations to provide environmental job training projects and to facilitate job creation in the assessment, remediation, or preparation of brownfields sites for sustainable reuse.

Maximum value is not to exceed $500,000.

Eligible applicants must identify and propose to serve a community that currently receives, or has received, financial assistance (federal, state, or tribal) for brownfields assessment, revolving loan fund, cleanup, site-specific work carried out by state or tribal response programs, and/or targeted brownfields assessments performed directly by EPA.

For information, visit: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/eparecovery/index.htm; closing date is April 20, 2009.

Seeking 'Smart' Development Proposals

The EPA Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation is seeking applications for technical assistance from communities that want to incorporate "smart growth" in future development to meet environmental and other community goals.

Eligible entities are tribal, local, regional, and state governments, and nonprofit organizations that have a demonstrated partnership with a governmental entity. Applications are due April 23, 2009.

EPA has identified some key areas in which communities are likely to benefit from technical assistance: green job development; corridor redevelopment; green building development; climate change (both mitigation of and adaptation); and other topics.

Proposals are not limited to requests for technical assistance. For details visit http://epa.gov/smartgrowth/2009_sgia_rfa.htm.

Selected communities or states will receive visits from a team of experts organized by EPA and other national partners. EPA plans to assist three to five communities in a year. Selected communities in will be announced in fall of 2009. For more about smart growth and community building, see this link.

Water, Eyed As Growth Investment Sector

Water. Turn on the tap, and there it is. Yet to make that happen is not so simple. Providing a dependable supply of clean water is a business growth sector for investment opportunities.

Challenges in water supplies, emerging technologies and the need for substantial capital investment, strategic alliances and acquisitions are some of the topics presented at the Water Investment World North America conference on Feb. 23 through Feb. 25 at Bridgewaters, New York, NY. Produced by Terrapinn, cost to attend, $4,395 to $1,535.

Speakers include Patrick Cairo, executive vice president, Suez Environment; Thomas Paolicelli, executive director, New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority; Doug Scott, managing director, Fitch Ratings; Eugene Schiller, deputy executive director, Southwest Florida Water Management District; Ken Kirk, executive director, National Association of Clean Water Agencies; Kevin Ward, executive administrator, Texas Water Development Board; Teresa Daniell, interim general manager, Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission.

Federal concerns that include developing market-based sustainable solutions for water infrastructure financing and management, along with water efficiency in sustainable water systems, detailed by Michael Deane, deputy assistant administrator for water, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Private equity and project finance for infrastructure will be covered by Larry Chertoff, director, Alinda Capital Partners, and Robert Dove, managing director, infrastructure, Carlyle Group.

International investment opportunities in the private sector including legal and regulatory challenges and creating and maintaining partnerships with water operators round out the presentations.

Training Grants to Green Connecticut Brownfields

A "brownfield" is a property where the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

It is estimated that there are more than 450,000 brownfields in the U.S., and because of its industrial past and present, Connecticut has its share, even in rural communities.

Grants have been awarded in 12 states including Connecticut, to share $2.6 million in job training grants to clean up contaminated properties and turn them into productive community assets. The recipients are Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board, Waterbury, and The Workplace, Inc., Southwestern Connecticut Regional Workforce, Bridgeport. For details, see this EPA link.

The EPA Brownfields Program, earmarked grants of $200,000 each to non-profit organizations, workforce investment boards, and state and local governments.

The grant money will "teach environmental assessment and cleanup job skills to individuals living in areas near brownfields sites" in Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.