Source: http://www.myrecordjournal.com, June 22, 2017
By: Jesse Buchanan

Final soil testing is underway at the site of a former factory destroyed by fire in 2003.

The Town Council approved a $92,000 contract earlier this month with Arcadis, an environmental company, to conduct soil tests in preparation for cleanup work at the Beaton & Corbin property on North Main Street. Money for the cleanup will come from a developer, Mark Lovley, the town and a state grant.

The council also approved an agreement with the Connecticut Brownfield Land Bank, a nonprofit started two years ago to spur the cleanup of contaminated industrial sites.

Since the defunct Beaton & Corbin Inc. still holds title to the property, the land bank will help clear the title so it can be sold to a developer.

Town Attorney Mark Sciota said the land bank will start a foreclosure on the property after the town sells its tax liens to the land bank for $1. Through the foreclosure process, the land bank will extinguish all liens against the property.

Ultimately the town hopes to get the property developed. Lovley was the only developer to respond after the town put out a public request for proposals three years ago. He’s planning to build a 13,000-square-foot building on the site.

Arthur Bogen, of the land bank, said the town, the land bank and Lovley plan to enter into an agreement on the property but need to know how much cleanup will cost. Bogen said he suspects that some contaminated soils will have to be removed from the property while other soils can remain, but there’s always the “worst case” where clean-up costs run into the millions.

“We’re being practical here,” Bogen said.

Lovley and the town have each pledged $150,000 for cleanup. Another $400,000 is available through a state grant.

Bogen is hoping that testing and cleanup can be completed by mid-2018. The testing will help the land bank and the other groups develop a cleanup plan that may need to be approved by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Signing agreements is a “big step” in a project that’s been in the works for years, Bogen said.

Town officials and Bogen interviewed environmental planning companies and recommended Arcadis. Although one company submitted a bid slightly lower than Arcadis, Bogen told councilors that he believed Arcadis’ planned tests were more extensive and more likely to receive approval from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, which must certify cleanup efforts.

Sciota said Arcadis has also done some of the initial testing and has a familiarity with the Beaton & Corbin site.

“We felt the Arcadis bid is a complete bid,” he said.