Date: Fri 30-Apr-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Fairfield-Hills-Environment

Full Text:

Report Details Areas Of Environmental Concern At Fairfield Hills

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

A draft environmental assessment of the 185-acre core campus at Fairfield

Hills finds there are 27 potential areas of environmental concern on the site,

which is for sale by the state.

Maguire Group, Inc, the New Britain consulting firm which prepared the

environmental report for the state Department of Public Works (DPW), assigns

"moderate" environmental concern to soil and groundwater on the site.

"However, the buildings are assigned a high rating for encountering

environmental concerns, due to the suspicion of numerous materials containing

asbestos and possibly lead," according to Maguire.

Maguire recommends that the state further study the site to verify the

presence or absence of environmentally harmful substances within the buildings

and surrounding areas.

The detailed study, which is subject to possible revision, has been forwarded

to the four developers that are finalists in the competition to acquire

Fairfield Hills from the state and redevelop it for new uses.

The sprawling state mental institution which once housed more than 3,000

patients closed in 1995 in an era of patient "deinstitutionalization."

The town has the right of first refusal for acquiring Fairfield Hills from the

state. A local ad hoc committee is considering whether the town should buy the

property.

Because the environmental report was delivered later than expected, the

Fairfield Hills Selection Committee has agreed to extend the deadline for the

four developers to submit redevelopment proposals for Fairfield Hills, said

Richard Nuclo, director of assets management for the state Office of Policy

and Management (OPM). The submission date has been extended to July 12.

An extended submission date means the committee's selection of a firm to

acquire Fairfield Hills will be delayed, Mr Nuclo said. The selection date may

come in late August or early September.

The environmental report is the last major piece of information the state will

provide to the developers before they submit their redevelopment proposals, Mr

Nuclo said.

In considering the several redevelopment proposals, the selection committee

will rank order them, placing the most desirable redevelopment scenario on top

of a list, he said.

After an initial review of the submissions by the committee, the documents

will be available for public review, he said.

The Maguire Report

In its report, Maguire finds 27 potential areas of environmental concern on

the 185-acre site.

These include: the 17 major buildings on the site; four open pits on the

eastern side of the site; two authorized debris collection areas; two open

discharge points from underground pipes; a vent pipe near Trades Lane; and the

greenhouse located between Cochran House and Plymouth Hall.

The site has 17 institutional buildings comprising 1.2 million square feet of

enclosed space and 19 other structures of varying usage including mechanical,

maintenance, residential and agricultural uses.

"The site is considered to be of moderate risk based on the information

gathered in respect to potential subsurface environmental conditions,

although, due to the visible indications ... of `asbestos containing

materials,' the building interiors are considered to be of high environmental

risk. The overall rating, with respect to potential contamination of the site

by the presence, release, seepage or impact from off-site sources of a

hazardous or regulated substance is considered to be moderate to high,"

according to the report.

Maguire recommends a variety of steps to deal with environmental hazards on

the site.

These include a comprehensive asbestos inspection of buildings before they are

reused or renovated; an asbestos inspection prior to building demolition or to

building renovation which requires partial demolition; and an assessment of

asbestos contamination before any reuse of the buildings even if no renovation

or demolition is proposed.

Maguire also recommends checking fluorescent light ballasts for the presence

of PCBs; environmental testing of areas with unclean fill and garbage;

sampling sediments from drainage catch basins and stormwater outlets; proper

removal and disposal of potentially hazardous and regulated chemicals and

paints stored within buildings on the site; and testing the soil and

groundwater to confirm the presence or absence of contamination due to

releases from the sanitary/storm sewers, the discharge points of basement

sumps, floor drains, and roof drains.

The report also documents a variety of fuel and chemical spills and releases

on the property which have occurred since 1980, describing what occurred and

how the problem was handled. The report includes information on the status of

underground fuel storage tanks.

The Maguire report confirms that Fairfield Hills buildings contain asbestos

and lead paint, which were common building materials in structures of the

past, Mr Nuclo said. The main buildings at Fairfield Hills were built between

1933 and 1956.

How asbestos and lead paint problems can be solved depends on whether

individual buildings will be reused or demolished in a redevelopment project,

Mr Nuclo said.

Mr Nuclo said he does not expect the state will do any additional

environmental studies on the core campus at Fairfield Hills. Further study,

which would provide cost estimates for resolving environmental problems, would

be the responsibility of a developer, he said.

The Fairfield Hills Selection Committee has named four developers as finalists

in the competition to redevelop Fairfield Hills.

Each of the four firms lists residential redevelopment as a major component of

a "mixed-use" scenario for the property.

The four developers are Becker and Becker Associates, Inc, of New Canaan; The

Community Builders, Inc, of New Haven; SBC Associates, LLC, of Greenwich; and

Wilder Balter Partners, LLC, of Elmsford, N.Y.

State officials have not set a price for the property, saying the sale price

will depend upon the uses to which the property is put.