$3.48M In State Funds Approved For Raymark Superfund Site In Stratford

STRATFORD, CT — (Contributed): The Town of Stratford's delegation to the Connecticut General Assembly – including Rep. Joseph P. Gresko, Rep. Phil Young, Sen. Kevin Kelly and Sen. Dennis Bradley – commends the inclusion of $3,482,000 in additional state funding for the remediation project at the Raymark superfund site in Stratford.

The funds, which will be disbursed through the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and received approval from the State Bond Commission on Thursday, will be used to continue the process of mitigating potentially hazardous waste at the site.

"As House Chair of the Environment Committee, which has cognizance over the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, I fought hard to have this funding included in the bonding committee's agenda," Gresko said. "These approved funds should be our final request to support this phase of this lengthy and sometimes frustrating cleanup which addresses soil pollution at certain properties in town. While funds for another phase may be needed in the future, for now I want to thank Gov. Lamont and the State Bond Commission for continuing to make this a priority for Stratford."

Young said, "I'd like to thank Governor Lamont and the Bond Commission for this funding. This money will ensure that the Raymark cleanup project is finished on time, and in turn will create valuable space to help the town prosper.”

"All people deserve a clean and safe environment," Kelly said. "Pushing forward with the Raymark superfund site cleanup is a decades long process that we continue to advocate for and maintain as a top priority for our town and region. Not only does this project help advance our shared goals to achieve a clean environment, but it also will create opportunity for our community's future when it comes to remediating and repurposing the area. Since 2017, the bipartisan Stratford delegation has secured $8 million in needed state investments to support the remediation. I applaud the efforts of my colleagues representing Stratford, our local town officials, state officials, and our local Stratford residents who have all worked together to make sure the remediation continues forward with all hands-on deck."

Bradley said, “I am grateful to the State Bond Commission for the funding that is being allocated to the Raymark superfund site in Stratford. This site closed in 1989 leaving behind polluted soil. With this funding, it will work to support the ongoing project of the remedial action plan for groundwater and soil remediation."

"I want to thank the dedicated bipartisan work of our legislative delegation as well as the State Bond Commission members and Governor Ned Lamont for their approval of $3.4 million for this phase of funding toward the removal and remediation of Raymark waste in the Town of Stratford," Stratford Mayor Laura R. Hoydick said. "The remediation of Raymark waste has been a long-standing effort involving many partners including town, state and federal agencies working in concert to address the groundwater and soil contamination at this superfund site. We have come a long way together in that process, and we still have much to do, but this funding represents a sustained commitment to our ongoing effort."