HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) - Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen announced an administrative order Thursday requiring the current and former owners of the New Haven-based English Station power plant site to clean the property.
Jepsen and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection announced the order against the Bayside, N.Y.-based Asnat Realty LLC and the Wilmington, Md.-based Evergreen Power LLC, the current owners of the site, and the United Illuminating Company, Grant Mackay Demolition and Quinnipiac Energy LLC, the former owners of the site.
The order requires the current and former owners to fully look into the contamination on and emanating from the site, submit a remediation plan for DEEP approval in compliance with state and federal regulations, and remediate the site in accordance with the plan.
"English Station has been a potential source of pollution to Fair Haven and the waters of the state for too long. It must be cleaned-up by all those responsible for its present condition," Jepsen said. "My office will assist Commissioner Esty in his efforts to make the site safe for the community and the environment."
The plant is non-operational and access to the property was limited pending the submission of a plan to clean up extensive heavy metal and polychlorinated biphenyl contamination. PCBs are known carcinogens.
DEEP issued a cease and desist order against the current owners in February 2012 to prevent demolition of the plant and make sure contamination would not be spread. Demolition could create a major risk of spreading toxic chemicals and harming the public health and the environment.
DEEP and Jepsen's office obtained a court order in December requiring the owners to provide around-the-clock security after multiple incidents in which trespassers gained access to the site to remove materials with value.
Conn. AG announces administrative order against power plant owners
