Date: Fri 21-Aug-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

registrar-Lawrenson

Full Text:

Rehabilitation Of Batchelder Site Appears To Be On Track

BY STEVE BIGHAM

Finally, there is good news coming from the former Batchelder site on Swamp

Road. Economics and environmental contamination shut down the site more than

ten years ago, but it looks as if the site may finally be on the road to

recovery.

On Thursday morning, officials from the Department of Environmental Protection

(DEP) converged on the site to begin evaluating the extent of the groundwater

and soil damage. Also on hand was Arthur Bogen of Down-to-Earth LLC of

Milford, who was hired last spring to identify the damage and come up with a

re-use and implementation strategy.

A key element in getting the property back on its feet was finding an

experienced developer to take over the property -- someone, according to Mr

Bogen, who is willing to work hard to see this enormous project through.

Just this week, First Selectman Herb Rosenthal announced that a handful of

developers have stepped forward to express interest in taking over the

much-maligned Batchelder site. He declined to name the potential buyers, but

said there have been some serious discussions.

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.

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.

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

found. There are many state and federal programs 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 "Brownfield" sites. Newtown's

application recently made the first cut for SCPRIF funding and is now in the

final application process.

There is still groundwater 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.

Also, testing still needs to be done on the building to determine levels of

asbestos and lead on the site.