Federal Agency Says No to Field Office to Study Crumbling Foundations in Tolland and Other Area Towns

HARTFORD, CT — The Federal Emergency Management Agency told Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s that it would not set up a field office in northeastern Connecticut to investigate the crumbling foundation epidemic.

Last month, Malloy asked FEMA administrator Craig Fugate to do so.

Malloy said the state believes it is the result of a natural disaster, "according to the result of information obtained over the course of its investigation into this ongoing situation."

In the Oct. 19 letter to Fugate, the Governor explains that potentially tens of thousands of Connecticut residents are at risk, and while the state government, local governments, and a coalition of insurance companies have been collaborating on a strategy to address this problem, federal assistance and the expertise of FEMA are critical.

A state investigation concluded that a natural mineral called pyrrhotite caused the cracking.

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney hinted at the finding last week, and in a letter dated Nov. 8, Fugate said that, although the chemical reaction that caused the crumbling is natural, pouring foundations is man-made and does not "constitute" a catastrophe.

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