In 2004, the Capitol Region Council of Governments partnered with the MetroHartford Alliance to establish the MetroHartford Brownfields Assessment Program. The purpose of this program is to inventory and assess properties contaminated by petroleum products and/or hazardous substances in communities throughout the greater Hartford area. Cleaning up contaminated sites allows them to be recycled into new economic opportunities for companies expanding or relocating into the area. The increased value of these properties will bring additional revenue to our municipalities, help revitalize communities, and provide alternatives to greenfield development. We use grant funding from the US EPA and State of Connecticut to undertake this work on behalf of our cities and towns.

The MetroHartford Brownfields Program has conducted environmental site assessments and/or remediation planning on 40 sites in twelve municipalities. In addition, CRCOG has development a targeted inventory of sites with the CT fastrack and the CT rail -Hartford Line corridors to identify the need for brownfield assessment and remediation and to support transit-oriented development (TOD). As of 2017, the inventory includes 245 known and potential brownfield sites.

We have expanded our program to include assistance for clean-up of contaminated sites. Funding is available under the EPA’s Revolving Loan Fund Program.