Occum Park Brownfields Redevelopment This 5-acre Brownfields site in the Village of Occum was once home to a textile manufacturing facility. A fire destroyed the mill complex many years ago and various waste materials and contamination remained. Past CTDEP and EPA site, investigations were undertaken using EPA Brownfields funding. The City of Norwich took title to the property and, with a $1.5 million grant from CT Department of Economic and Community Development and a $900,000 grant from CTDEP, completed site remediation and park development for this property.

The park is located on the Shetucket River within the nationally designated Quinebaug Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor in northeastern Connecticut. Under a CTDEP Voluntary Cleanup Program, a cleanup plan was developed that capped certain waste remaining on site while removing other waste and soils containing PCBs. Regulatory requirements of the CTDEP Remediation Standard Regulations were complied with, including an engineered control variance and environmental land use restriction (ELUR). In addition, PCBs were remediated in accordance with EPA's Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  A municipal recreation facility was designed and constructed at the site, including play areas, fields, walkways and river access. The project has been completed and the park is highly used and successful. In addition, this project has promoted redevelopment activities in the Village of Occum. Key Elements Phase I, II, III Site Assessment and Investigation Remedial Action Plan Engineered Control Variance Park Planning and Design Public Participation Successful Implementation