Feds Dedicate More Money To CT Crumbling Foundation Research

TOLLAND/HARTFORD COUNTIES, CT — U.S. Reps. Joe Courtney (CT-02) and John Larson (CT-01) Thursday announced that more than $662,000 in federal funding they secured in the House’s FY 2021 omnibus spending package for research on Connecticut’s crumbling foundations crisis has been awarded to the University of Connecticut.

In 2020, Courtney, Larson, and the Connecticut Delegation worked to secure $2 million in funding for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST, to continue conducting research on the effects of the mineral pyrrhotite on concrete aggregate. On Thursday, Courtney announced that NIST has officially awarded UConn $662,400 of that FY 2021 funding to support continued research into the premature degradation of concrete foundations that contain pyrrhotite, and to continue modeling the risk for failure of concrete foundations containing aggregate with reactive sulfides.

The NIST award of of $662,40 comes in addition to the $768,000 UConn received in 2021.

"The NIST award is a milestone for our coalition’s grassroots efforts, legislators, town leaders, and our federal partners," said Debbie MacCoy, eastern Connecticut condominium owner and crumbling foundations advocate. "This funding marks the seriousness being given to the research on deleterious minerals in aggregate used for concrete works in home foundations, bridges, public buildings, and commercial buildings. It shows that not only are Connecticut and Massachusetts dealing with crumbling foundations, but that other states are dealing with deleterious minerals, too, and that the federal government hears the concerns mounting around this crisis.

“The research being conducted at the UConn is extremely important, as there is no research like it in the country that will at some point quantitatively establish a risk assessment scale to understand how much pyrrhotite in concrete is damaging,” MacCoy continued. “Today, test results can give a percentage of pyrrhotite in concrete walls, but what does that mean in terms of how damaging that percentage is to the foundations? The testing method UConn is using is also new and less expensive, less intrusive, and a quicker method to finding the answers regarding whether a home’s foundation has pyrrhotite."

Courtney, who lives in Vernon and has seen neighbors being affected, has taken a keen interest in anything that had to do with the crumbling foundation crisis.

"The House is tasked with crafting the federal government’s budget and the crumbling foundations research and testing taking place at the University of Connecticut is funded directly by the provisions Rep. Larson and I included in the House’s FY 2021 omnibus spending package," he said. "It's great this research is being done right here in eastern Connecticut by the experts at UConn, but what’s even better is that it’s already having results. I was with UConn researchers last spring out at the Willington Ridge Condos, the first condominium complex in our state to be lifted for a foundation replacement after it tested positive for pyrrhotite, and the relief from those families was overwhelming.

"The work being done at UCONN on crumbling foundations is giving us a clearer understanding of the problem and it's helping us chart the path forward for impacted families. It's great to see this support come home, and we’ll keep pressing ahead for more."

The NIST award highlights how the crisis is "an all hands on deck" situation. Larson said.

He added, "With federal resources, local leadership — and UConn's expertise — this effort will further our understanding of how pyrrhotite actually affects building foundations. I will continue to work with Rep. Courtney to pursue every possible avenue to deliver relief to homeowners in Eastern and Central Connecticut."

Reps. Courtney and Larson have worked together toward securing federal funds for research into eastern and north central Connecticut's crumbling foundations crisis for years. In 2019, they led the Connecticut delegation in securing the first-ever funding for pyrrhotite research at NIST—$1.5 million to study crumbling foundations. That 2019 legislation resulted in the initial $768,000 federal research award to UCONN in August 2020, which supported their crumbling foundations research and testing.

Courtney said foundations testing at UConn has already led to positive results for local home and condo-owners. In March of 2021, Rep. Courtney joined MacCoy, representatives from the Connecticut Foundation Solutions Indemnity Company (CFSIC), UCONN engineers and researchers, and others at the Willington Ridge site.

Courtney said he is working to secure even more direct support "to provide help to homeowners and condo-owners impacted by crumbling foundations as part of the FY 2022 appropriations package, expected to be considered soon."