Closing Expected In ‘Weeks’ –

DEP Clears Final Barrier To Fairfield Hills Purchase

By John Voket

A timeline related to the town’s acquisition of more than 180 acres of Fairfield Hills property that began just over 11 years ago has all come down to two pieces of stationary from the State Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

According to First Selectman Herbert Rosenthal, the two signed letters remove the final barriers in a protracted saga that has generated controversy and debate over the future ownership and utilization of the former state hospital grounds.

Late Tuesday afternoon, Mr Rosenthal said he received written DEP approval of a remedial environmental action plan and the Covenant Not to Sue, clearing the path to expedite a closing on the property in “a matter of weeks.” The town will close on the property as soon as an environmental insurance policy is secured from one of two vendors that are competing for that contract.

“These are the two [letters] we have been waiting for,” Rosenthal told The Bee Tuesday. “We’ll be looking to secure our environmental third-party liability policy right away. As soon as we get the policy, we can begin closing…it should only be a matter of weeks.”

Mr Rosenthal said the complicated policy would have to be individually tailored to the town’s needs because of the unique nature of the property, and the many facilities located there. He said the policy will be written by one of two qualified providers, AIG Environmental or Zurich North America.

The company that receives the business may not be the lowest cost provider, however.

“We have a planned budget of $500,000 to $600,000,” Mr Rosenthal said. “But we’re not necessarily looking for the best price, we’re looking for a policy that will best serve the town’s needs.”

Armed with the DEP documents, town officials will enter the final phase of what has been a long and drawn-out process which began somewhat discreetly back in June of 1993 when Rep. Julia Wasserman urged her legislative associates to create a task force to study future uses for the soon-to-be-closed Fairfield Hills Hospital.

Almost two years to the day of her request, the state announced it would close the sprawling mental health facility. In August of 1998, Mr Rosenthal appointed the first advisory committee and charged them with determining whether or not the town should acquire more than 180 acres encompassing all of the hospital facilities, as well as numerous residential homes and outbuildings that formerly housed hospital staff.

The two DEP letters that were dispatched July 16, mark the final step in negotiations with that agency.

The remedial action proposal, which was signed off by Elsie Patton, acting director of the Remediation Section of the Waste Management Bureau, approves the plan’s four key points:

1. Removal of dieldrin-impacted soils in the vicinity of several on-site buildings;

2. Removal of tetrachloroethylene-impacted soil adjacent to the former laundry building;

3. Removal of soil impacted with petroleum hydrocarbons, lead, and/or other constituents of concern at various locations on-site; and

4. Surface water and groundwater monitoring.

The approval still reserves the right of the DEP commissioner to institute any proceedings, or take any action to require compliance with the plan. Provided the town proceeds as indicated with the remediation, and that information the town provided in the proposal remains accurate as presented, the Covenant Not To Sue will clear the way to secure the environmental insurance plan, and subsequently close on the property.

Mr Rosenthal said it is necessary for the insurance coverage to be in place concurrent with the closing, in the event a person (or persons) comes forward with a lawsuit against the town for an injury or illness tied to the environmentally related concerns, whether or not those issues were outlined in the plan.

Reiterating his concern that the town must secure an environmental liability policy that best serves the unique set of criteria at Fairfield Hills, Mr Rosenthal said, “There can be a lot of different [clauses in the policy] that the carrier can use to avoid covering a claim.”

Understandably, Mr Rosenthal said, the town’s legal representatives will be closely examining every facet of the policy to ensure the most comprehensive coverage, and that the town is well-protected in the event a future concern should arise.