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Hamden's Newhall neighborhood sits just south of Six Lakes, connected to it by Newhall Street, which runs into Leeder Hill Drive. But proximity isn't all Newhall and Six Lakes have in common. They also share a legacy of pollution by Olin Corporation.
Contamination of soil in Newhall – mostly lead and arsenic, along with pollutants from wood and coal ash – was found after the neighborhood was built on a landfill where Winchester Repeating Arms Company had dumped its waste. The Olin Corporation, which now owns Winchester, was responsible for cleaning up this contamination. The Town of Hamden, the Regional Water Authority, and the state Department of Education were also responsible for some localized pollution and cleanup in the neighborhood.
The CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) oversaw the Newhall cleanup from approximately 2009 to 2013. As required by DEEP's consent order with Olin, the project entailed replacing four feet of contaminated soil from approximately 240 mostly residential properties and backfilling it with clean soil. Trees and shrubs were planted, and driveways and sidewalks replaced.
At least, that’s the official story.
But the job is not done, as local resident Gloria Faber can attest.
In a conversation in early January with Six Lakes Park Coalition (SLPC) steering committee member Melinda Tuhus, Ms. Faber said she’s lived in her home on Mill Rock Road for 32 years. “There’s contamination but no action,” she said. “I have cracks in all my walls.” Ms. Faber says she’d like the town to buy her out so she could move, and that she knows a few homeowners who did get a buy-out, but she’s received no offer.
Does she think things would have happened quicker if the problem had occurred in a white, middle-class neighborhood rather than a lower-income neighborhood with mostly people of color? Yes.
Elizabeth Hayes, a community activist in southern Hamden, has been fighting for years for the safety of the Newhall neighborhood. She pointed out two flaws with where remediation stands now. One is that “because of the soil composition and topography, the clean soil would sink over time. We wanted six feet removed.” Ms. Hayes said that over the years since the project was declared mostly complete in 2013, because of stronger storms, much of the clean soil has already washed away, exposing the tarps that were installed to separate the contaminated soil from the newly added soil.
The other issue is that homes on some of the streets have never been remediated, such as Mill Rock Road where Ms. Faber lives. “Mill Rock Road is full of contamination!” Ms. Hayes declared. But she vows to keep fighting for justice, making “good trouble” in town meetings, and contacting town officials and DEEP.
Ms. Faber said rehabilitated Villano Park right across the street is great for young children, but that the baseball games sometimes go on until 10 p.m. The upside is that the floodlights shining in her windows mean she spends less on her electric bill, she said, smiling.
She loves the idea of a cleaned up, decontaminated public park at the Olin property nearby--the 102-acre parcel we call Six Lakes. But, like Newhall, Six Lakes first needs a cleanup. And, as in Newhall, Olin is responsible. You can count on advocates like Ms. Hayes to be sure that job is done right, too.
A park at Olin's Six Lakes property would be one route to restorative justice for the residents of Newhall, who have been through so much.
“People love to get fresh air,” Ms. Faber said. Just as many other Hamden residents have already weighed in with their suggestions for what Six Lakes could be, she said she’d like it to be a place for family gatherings, with picnic tables and a playground, adding, “I’d love to be involved.”
Everyone will have a chance to get involved in dreaming up ideas for a park at Six Lakes in 2024 as the SLPC launches a series of public visioning activities. Six Lakes will also be part of a series of community meetings sponsored by the Town of Hamden. More details will be shared on those processes in upcoming email updates. |
