Early Test Results Indicate No Major Contamination At Fairfield Hills

By Steve Bigham

First Selectman Herb Rosenthal has received word from Hartford that the Phase II environmental study of Fairfield Hills has been completed. And, although he has not received a detailed analysis of the soil report, the first selectman said early indications do not reveal any major contamination of the site.

“The first impression is there was nothing in it be alarmed about [in the Phase II report],” Mr Rosenthal said Tuesday. “There was some contamination on the property. There were a couple of areas of contaminated soil from leaking oil tanks and pesticides, but it did not sound too serious.”

The all-important test to determine levels of soil contamination was conducted by HRP earlier this spring. Russell Bartlett, the town’s own environmental consultant, has already indicated that the site’s massive buildings contain lead and asbestos that could cost as much as $10 million to remove.

The tests were paid for by the State of Connecticut, which is currently negotiating with Mr Rosenthal on the sale of the property. The results of the Phase II study are expected to have a significant effect on the final selling price of the property. The environmental investigation of contamination involved extensive testing with work to include the analysis of soil samples, subsurface borings, the digging of test

pits, the inspection of subsurface drain lines, and the inspection of areas where there are or were subsurface fuel storage tanks. One state official said 40 to 50 locations on the site were to be checked for contamination. A preliminary study performed last year found there were 27 potential areas of environmental concern on the site. That study revealed that there were some fuel and chemical spills on the property during the hospital’s years of operation.

Mr Rosenthal said the completion of the Phase II study should help speed up the negotiation process currently going on between he and state officials.

“We’re trying to investigate all of the potential costs that the town could incur and trying to work out with the state who is going to bear the costs,” Mr Rosenthal said. “We want to make sure that the town leadership and public are aware of all the potential factors and costs to the town in taking over that property.”

As for a prediction on when Newtown’s taxpayers will get to vote on whether or not they want to buy Fairfield Hills, Mr Rosenthal struggled to find the words, and was reluctant to say whether an offer from the state will come by the fall.

“It’s hard to say. I don’t know how far along we’ll be by then. Hopefully, by that time, we will have had a firm price offer. Whether all other issues are finalized by then, I don’t know. Every time I think we’re there, something else crops up,” he said Tuesday.

 On Monday, Newtown residents voted in favor of a $66.8 million budget, which includes a $500,000 line item for Fairfield Hills. According to Mr Rosenthal, that money may be used to pay professionals to create a master plan for community ownership of the 185-acre campus. The money may also be used for security and maintenance of the land, although there are many residents who doubt that the town will own the land by the end of the next fiscal year, June 30, 2001.

Last week, Mr Rosenthal received a 120-day extension from Chief Deputy Commissioner P.J. Delahunty of the state’s Department of Public Works. The state has put deadlines on the town in an effort to speed up the selling process. However, since Newtown has made a good-faith effort to negotiate, none of the deadlines have been enforced.