Date: Fri 22-May-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

environment-Batchelder

Full Text:

Town Hires Consultant To Assess Options For Batchelder Site

(with photo)

BY STEVE BIGHAM

The Legislative Council Wednesday voted to pay an environmental consultant

$9,400 to assist the town in finding a solution to the environmental

contamination at the former Batchelder site on Swamp Road.

Arthur Bogen of Down-to-Earth, LLC of Milford, said there are two important

issues that need to be resolved before an environmental cleanup can begin:

determining the extent of the environmental damage at the Swamp Road site, and

identifying possible sources of funding for the cleanup.

First Selectman Herb Rosenthal wants to find out if the site can ever become

usable for business again.

Mr Bogen, who spoke to the council this week, said he won't be doing any of

the cleanup. His job will be simply to come up with a plan of action. The

project will take about 157 hours.

"This car has rattling everywhere. We need to know which to fix first," the

environmental analyst told town officials.

The former Charles Batchelder Co site along Swamp Road has been vacant for

more than 10 years.

Council member Karen Blawie said this was the first time the Batchelder site

has come before the board during her tenure on the council. "I'm pleased to

see we're moving on this," she said, crediting Newtown resident Sam Nezvesky

for his efforts to keep the issue on the minds of both the state and town.

According to town officials, the ten-acre site could be bringing in as much as

a million dollars in taxes annually. Instead, it has been costing the town

money since Batchelder closed its doors and filed for bankruptcy in 1987.

Mr Bogen, who has been involved in several large cleanups around the state,

called Batchelder one of the most difficult sites he has ever dealt with

because of its size, the materials on it, and the tie-up in bankruptcy court.

The former aluminum-smelting company is not listed as a super-fund site,

although its problems have been addressed by both the state and federal

governments, Mr Bogen said. Last year, the US Environmental Protection Agency

converged on the site to remove most of the hazardous material.

However, there is still ground water contamination and waste metals on site,

according to Mark Cooper, the town's health director. However, there are no

hazardous materials currently on the site.

Mr Bogen said test wells have been set up around the site to determine the

extent of the damage to both the ground water and soil. There also need to be

tests done on the building to determine asbestos and lead levels.

Once the extent of the environmental damage is established, Mr Bogen's company

would step in to come up with a re-use and implementation strategy. Most

importantly, an experienced developer needs to be found to take over the

property -- someone, according to the consultant, who is willing to work hard

to see this enormous project through.

Also, Mr Bogen said a method of funding for the cleanup would need to be

found. There are many state and federal programs out there that the town may

be able to tap, Mr Bogen said. One of them is the state's recently created

Special Contaminated Properties Remediation and Insurance Fund (SCPRIF), which

is designed to help municipalities and businesses address site contamination

problems and to assist in the reuse of "Brownsfield" sites.