$6 Million To Be Spent On Penfield, Fill Pile, Other Contamination Cleanup

FAIRFIELD, CT — More than $6 million in surplus funds are earmarked for contamination cleanup at the Fairfield fill pile, Penfield Pavilion and other sites across town.

There are over 50 locations in Fairfield that received potentially contaminated fill during the last decade in connection with pile-related dumping and corruption, the scope of which has been revealed in town meetings and courtrooms in recent years. Remediation is expected to cost tens of millions of dollars.

“Anything under a consent order is required by law that we clean it,” First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick said during a Board of Selectmen meeting Monday, when the body unanimously voted to transfer the $6.3 million.

Testing and remediation of the pile, as well as Penfield Pavilion and seven other town sites, is subject to consent orders from the state's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The contamination is one of several issues involving the pavilion, which was built in 2017 in violation of the National Flood Insurance Program under the Federal Emergency Management Agency, resulting in the loss of a $4 million grant from the agency for the project.

“The previous administration went ahead and challenged FEMA while continuing construction,” Kupchick said. “In light of the appeal denial, the town now has a building built in violation.”

The placement of horizontal grade beams in the foundation are against FEMA regulations and will have to be addressed, Kupchick said Friday in an email to residents. The facility also sits atop about 5 feet of fill, which contains polychlorinated biphenyls, with more fill under the parking lot.

Pavilion remediation is expected to cost $2.5 million to $5 million. Parking lot cleanup is projected at $3 million to $5 million. Correcting the FEMA violations could be anywhere from $5 million to $8 million, Kupchick said.

“I know people were a little blinded about Penfield,” she told selectmen.

Kupchick does not expect another update on action surrounding the facility for some time, as the town is still assessing possibilities, she said.

“Once we have an idea of what FEMA will allow, I will present several options to our community during public hearings to get resident's input regarding the best path forward,” she said in the email. “Penfield Pavilion has been rebuilt twice and frankly, I want this to be the last time we have to do anything to this building for a very long time.”

In addition to Penfield, the estimated cost to cap and close the fill pile is $4 million to $8 million, while the expense to remediate other sites excluding Penfield is projected to total $3 million to $4 million.

“Even at the low end of the range of costs, the numbers are high and will far exceed the $6 million,” Kupchick said to selectmen, referencing the surplus, which was obtained primarily by the town budgeting for a relatively low tax collection rate and receiving more payments than anticipated.

The Board of Finance and Representative Town Meeting are scheduled to vote on the surplus transfer within the next week.

Fairfield has already remediated 25 sites in town, has spent $2.9 million on legal costs and cleanup expenses, and is pursuing litigation to recoup its losses. Fairfield officials set aside $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act federal funds earlier in the year for contamination costs and are awaiting another $1 million in state bonding.

The town's fill pile problems began in 2013, when Fairfield hired Julian Development to operate the site and reduce it by 40,000 cubic yards. Instead, the pile tripled in size over three years, and days before the agreement with Julian was set to end, contaminants were discovered on the property.

Police opened an investigation into activity at the pile in 2017, and seven people — most of whom are former town employees — have been charged. The defendants are accused of conspiring to run an illegal dump for contaminated material, allowing fraudulent billing, illegally disposing of PCBs, and more.