The Town of Fairfield has received over $5 million in state grants for the restoration and resiliency of existing infrastructure that was damaged by Storm Sandy. The State has allocated $30 million to a handful of communities that were severely impacted by this devastating Storm.
According to a press release issued by Governor Dannel Malloy and Department of Housing Commissioner Evonne Klein, Fairfield is one of 11 municipalities in Connecticut that has received funding to restore a suitable living environment in disaster impacted communities by rehabilitating or reconstructing existing infrastructure and adding resiliency to minimize damage from future storm events.
First Selectman Mike Tetreau said, “I am very grateful to Governor Malloy, Commissioner Klein and the State for helping our community, which is still recovering from Storm Sandy, with these much needed grants. These funds will be vital in helping our Town be more prepared for future storms and reduce the impact of potential storm damage. I also wish to thank our Department of Public Works which will be implementing these projects to help make our community safer and more resilient to storms.”
The Governor’s press release also states that Fairfield received funding for the following three projects:
- Penfield Beach Resiliency Improvements—$225,000: This project will retrofit a vital section of shoreline infrastructure. The timber bulkhead in the Penfield Beach area will be improved, providing the Fairfield Beach Road neighborhood with the coastal resiliency to withstand damaging effects of severe coastal storm events. There is a $75,000 match for the Town; and
- Waste Water Treatment Plant Resiliency—$2,316,000: This project will provide proper protection from the risk of sanitary system overflows by constructing an earthen berm and storm water pump station to protect the waste water treatment plant and other critical facilities from future flood events. This grant covers 75% of the cost with a Town match of 25%; and
- Water Pollution Control Micro-grid—$2,500,000: A new cogeneration unit will provide heat and electricity to the facility during normal operation and in the case of a grid outage. The unit will be fueled by biogas currently produced by the wastewater treatment facility. This grant covers 100% of the cost with no Town match required.