1 Watrous Street

The property at 1 Watrous Street was part of the inventory of brownfields properties listed in the initial Townwide Assessment Project.  The property (Site No.3) was listed in Table 2 of the 2005 overview report summarizing initial environmental concerns. In 2001 a 100-gallon #2 fuel oil occurred by overfilling a tank. It was also a generator of waste subject to RCRA regulations during the 1980s when used for chemical storage. In 2015 an associated 25,000-pound water tower was removed due to safety concerns. The wooden tank and steel tower were at least 80 years old and aerial photographs showed the tower had moved and become unstable. The materials were recycled. The property was privately-owned until the town of East Hampton assumed ownership in 2016. The town cleared out the building and is taking steps to return the building to the tax rolls helping to revitalize the Village Center.

The town contracted to have a Phase I Environmental Assessment performed and subsequently a Phase II Environmental Assessment/Subsurface Investigation was completed on behalf of Connecticut Brownfields Land Bank, Inc. (CT BLB) which was funded by an U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfields Assessment Grant Program as RFA #19080. CT BLB also had hazardous materials surveys of the vacant facility conducted. The surveys included the interior and exterior, including the roofs, of the subject building.

The East Hampton Brownfields Redevelopment Agency is closely following the work as it is reported and advising the Town on remediation possibilities and plans.