EPA and partners celebrate groundbreaking of Scovill Industrial Landfill Superfund Site cleanup
Publilshed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
WATERBURY, CONN. (May 28, 2024) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s New England Regional Administrator David W. Cash joined U.S. Representative Hayes, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Mayor of Waterbury, and local community members to commemorate the groundbreaking of the cleanup at the Scovill Industrial Landfill Superfund Site in Waterbury, Connecticut.
“I’m so pleased to see the start of this cleanup finally happen for the community of Waterbury, a community which has historically had more than its fair share of pollution,” said EPA New England Regional Administrator David W. Cash. ”This cleanup is long overdue, but the unprecedented funding from Congress and President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will ensure EPA and our partners can protect the community from legacy contamination, as well as restore the property for future reuse.”
EPA selected a cleanup plan for the Scovill Industrial Landfill Site in 2016, but the project lacked the funding needed to execute the cleanup. The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding allotted for this project allows the cleanup to finally be implemented. Remedial Action (i.e., construction) work will begin this spring.
The $11.88 million allotted for the Scovill Industrial Landfill Superfund Site under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will fund the following activities:
- Excavation and consolidation of waste into a central location;
- Construction of a protective cover system cap over the consolidated, contaminated material in the northern portion of the site (referred to as the Calabrese parcel);
- And wetlands restoration.
What They Are Saying
“For years, the Scovill Industrial Landfill in Waterbury has posed serious health and environmental risks to nearby residents and I am thrilled that it will finally be cleaned up thanks to $11 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Today’s groundbreaking is a landmark occasion for the Waterbury community who will finally get the environmental justice they deserve. No one should live near contaminated sites and I will keep fighting for federal funding to support these long overdue and much needed remediation projects,” said U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal.
“With today’s announcement, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is keeping our promise to clean up backlogged sites and provide our communities with the peace of mind they deserve,” said U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (CT-03). “The groundbreaking today is a fantastic illustration of the good things that collaboration between concerned citizens, elected politicians, and committed government institutions can accomplish. Now the EPA, the City of Waterbury, and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, can move forward to restore the Scovill Industrial Landfill for future use and safeguard the neighborhood from legacy contamination.
“For years, Waterbury has attempted to address the Scovill Industrial Landfill Site. Today, funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will allow the real work to begin,” said U.S. Representative Jahana Hayes (CT-05). “Over the next eighteen months, this site will be remediated so it can be enjoyed by the surrounding community. Addressing these toxic sites scattered throughout the city is now and has always been a priority for me.”
“The state of Connecticut is so appreciative of the action by the US Environmental Protection Agency to restore this community that has long been seeking a final remedy for this historical industrial landfill, providing clarity and protection of owners and users of these properties,” Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Commissioner Katie Dykes said. “Without funding being made available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the wait for this final remedy may have stretched many years into the future.”
“Having grown up in Waterbury, I have witnessed firsthand how this site has been plagued with contamination and delays in cleanup efforts,” said Waterbury Mayor Paul K. Pernerewski Jr. “I am very excited to see the bipartisan infrastructure bill deliver on the promise to clean up this backlogged site and give our East End neighbors the peace of mind and quality of life improvement they deserve.”
Background
From 1919 to the mid-1970’s, The Scovill Manufacturing Company, located in Waterbury, Connecticut, made various metal parts, including brass buttons, belt buckles, clasps, and other products, using aluminum, chromium, copper, silver, tin, and zinc. In addition, they also produced appliances, small motors, watches, injection molded plastics, and photographic equipment. The company used the current Superfund Site at as a landfill during this time for disposal of ash, cinders, demolition debris, and other by-products. By the mid-1990s, several capacitors, ash, cinder, crushed drums containing sludge material, metal waste, demolition debris and other waste materials were found on the property. The waste materials contained elevated levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and other metals. The 25-acre Scovill Industrial Landfill Site was added to the Superfund “National Priorities List” (NPL) in 2000.
More information:
Scovill Industrial Landfill Superfund Site webpage: epa.gov/superfund/scovill
Read the full article at: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-and-partners-celebrate-groundbreaking-scovill-industrial-landfill-superfund-site
