Four decades after first agreeing to clean up the heavily contaminated Six Lakes property in southern Hamden, its owner now has at least eight more years to finish the job.
Full remediation of the 102.5-acre parcel – which many residents hope will eventually become a state park – must be completed by July 2034, according to a project schedule approved last week by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The property’s owner, Missouri-based Olin Corp., has until July 2029 to determine the full extent of contamination at the site, where officials have already identified at least seven “areas of concern,” according to DEEP. The company must then submit a detailed cleanup plan to DEEP and complete the work by the 2034 deadline.
But Olin can seek an extension if it shows it is making “best efforts” to meet its obligations, DEEP said in its June 16 approval letter. The agency can approve, reject or modify any revised schedule put forth by Olin.
The updated timeline has frustrated several Hamden residents and officials, who say the cleanup has dragged on for too long and who question whether the state will hold Olin to its decades-old promise to restore the property, also known as Pine Swamp and Olin Powder Farm.
“Too long! It’s been 40 years!” one resident shouted Wednesday night as DEEP staff presented the project timeline during a community meeting at the Keefe Community Center. Hamden Mayor Adam Sendroff and state Reps. Laurie Sweet, D-Hamden, and Steve Winter, D-New Haven, also attended.
