Is data center key to extending Millstone’s future in Waterford?

Daniel Drainville

Waterford ― At a meeting Monday night, officials from NE Edge, Dominion Energy Nuclear Connecticut and the town discussed how the construction of a 1.5 million- square-foot data center at the Millstone Power Station could extend Dominion’s operation of the nuclear plant.

In March, First Selectman Rob Brule signed a host fee agreement with data center developer NE Edge, which wants to construct two two-story data buildings and a switchyard at Millstone. It would receive power directly from the plant and pay the town $231 million over the 30-year life of the agreement.

At Monday’s Representative Town Meeting, Town Attorney Nick Kepple raised another potential benefit for the town beside the $231 million payment ― that the data center might be a way of extending Dominion’s operation of the Millstone Power Station.

The licenses for Millstone’s two operating reactors are set to expire in 2035 and 2045, while a third reactor is permanently shut down.

NE Edge attorney William McCoy said Wednesday that placing the data center on the Millstone site would be a factor in encouraging Dominion, whose decades-old infrastructure is expensive to run, to keep the nuclear plant in operation. The data center would be a guaranteed source of income for Dominion as it deals with fluctuating power costs and demand.

Millstone site Vice President Michael O’Connor said Wednesday that the steady income Dominion would receive from the data center, which would consume around 15% of the plant’s output, would help Dominion pay for operational costs such as maintenance and equipment.

Dominion might make more money if it sells the power at market rates, O’Connor said, but the fixed income from the data center would provide stability if rates were to plummet.

“When we have some assurances of the future value of the energy produced, then we can properly plan for the safe and reliable use of the units,” he added.

But he and O’Connor agreed the data center would not be the sole reason that Dominion would choose to renew or allow the leases to expire in 2035 and 2045.

“The license extensions that attorney McCoy talked about ― they’re not solely dependent on the data center, but the data center certainly supports keeping the plants in service longer,” O’Connor said at the meeting.

“And so, the synergies that are being built with the data center and Millstone Power Station, and subsequent license renewal, and additional power sources on into our future ― these things that we’re doing in the next three to five years make sure clean energy comes into our peninsula for the next 100 years,” O’Connor said. “And it’s up to us to do that responsibly. And that’s what I’ve observed through this process so far.”

He added that without a data center, “we would seek to figure out solutions to make sure Millstone was here a long time.”

McCoy said Wednesday that while he was not speaking for Dominion it is valid to say that the data center provides incentive for Dominion to stay and operate here.

O’Connor said that locating the data center on the site would allow for the potential of further nuclear expansion at Millstone, the only location in the state that can host more reactors. The state has a nuclear moratorium, but in 2022 passed an exemption that allows development at Millstone, its only operating nuclear power plant.

In addition, proposed legislation in Congress, called the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy, seeks to develop new nuclear technologies and deploy them across the country.

Kepple that if Dominion were to stay in operation for an additional 20 years it would pay $34 million annually in taxes, resulting in around $680 million in revenue for the town.

Waiting for a ruling

Dominion petitioned in July for a declaratory ruling from the Connecticut Siting Council to sever three parcels from Millstone’s property to be used for the data center. In September, the siting council voted, in spite of numerous requests from concerned citizens, not to hold a public hearing on the petition, and to set a deadline for a decision on the boundary request for Jan. 24, 2024.

McCoy said the siting council decision on severing the properties has been the primary roadblock to the project so far. If the council severs the parcels, then the town’s Planning and Zoning and Inland Wetlands commissions would handle the project going forward. This would include hearings in which residents would have the opportunity to comment on the plans. If the council does not sever the parcels, then it would handle the approvals.

If the council severs the parcels, NE Edge expects to be before the Planning and Zoning Commission in early spring of 2024, but the company cannot commit to that date because there is still engineering work to be performed, McCoy said. The Inland Wetlands Commission approval process would take place at the same time.

Residents weigh in again, for and against

At Monday’s meeting, residents again spoke for and against the project.

Members of local unions, in favor of the project, told the RTM the project would provide around a million man hours in union jobs, one quarter of which would go directly to Waterford residents as a result of a project labor agreement between NE Edge and the town.

Those who spoke against the project cited continued concerns over the project’s noise levels, environmental impact and quality-of-life concerns.

Brian Sayles, the leader of the Concerned Citizens of Waterford, again requested that the town, which he has said has not been transparent throughout the process, hold a special meeting where a discussion can be held about the project.

Biden administration puts $16 billion toward project ‘Americans have wanted for years’: ‘We are finally delivering the generational investments’

Leo Collis

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration has announced a huge funding boost to upgrade one of the nation’s most-used railway networks. 

Electrek has reported that the Northeast Corridor will receive a $16.4 billion cash injection to go towards long-overdue upgrades along its routes, with the aim of maintaining passenger volumes and even encouraging more people to travel via train. 

Funding will be taken from the $66 billion earmarked under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will be used to upgrade tunnel systems, replace bridges, and improve tracks, signals, and network safety, according to the U.S. DOT.

“Under President Biden, we are finally delivering the generational investments in passenger rail that Americans have wanted for years, including modernizing the busiest rail corridor in the country,” Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Transportation Secretary, said in a press release. 

“These investments will make our busiest passenger railroad safer, faster, and more reliable, which means fewer delays and shorter commutes for the 800,000 passengers who rely on the Northeast Corridor every day.”  

The Northeast Corridor is a 457-mile stretch between Boston, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C., and it runs through Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.

In the Department of Transportation’s statement, it notes, “the area the NEC spans accounts for 24 million jobs and 20% of the national GDP.” 

Reliable, quick, affordable, and accessible trains can deliver huge benefits when it comes to reducing transport-related pollution. 

While it’s tricky to quantify whether trains are all-around more environmentally friendly than cars on a passenger-by-passenger basis — due to the range of factors that affect the outcome — the International Energy Agency, alongside the International Union of Railways, found that in 2009, road travel accounted for 71% of carbon dioxide pollution from the transportation sector, while trains were responsible for just 1.8%. 

If updates can include electrification of railways to move away from traditional diesel-powered trains, the polluting impact will be reduced further. 

Meanwhile, public transport is far better for the environment than traveling by dirty-fuel-powered cars — although there’s an argument to be made that electric vehicles provide even more environmental benefits. 

Middletown survey will look for lead water service pipes, a rare but significant danger

Alex Wood

MIDDLETOWN — Although indications are that use of lead in the service pipes that connect homes and businesses to water mains is uncommon in Middletown, the water department will survey customers for which it does not yet have information to identify any possible lead contamination from service pipes.

The Common Council on Monday unanimously approved the $355,000 survey, which will be done by the Kleinfelder engineering firm of Rocky Hill.

A state grant will pay 75 percent of that cost while the city will borrow 25 percent, or $88,750, from the state Department of Public Health’s drinking water revolving fund, according to the council’s resolution.

DPH ordered the city to do the survey of its approximately 12,500 water service pipes, the resolution says.

The city has a major leg up on the project. It has information on about 80 percent of the service lines in town, and none of them contain lead, said Joseph S. Fazzino, the director of the Water and Sewer Department.

“So we’re in pretty good shape,” Fazzino said. He explained that a city ordinance always called for use of copper service pipes.

The Kleinfelder survey will focus on the remaining 20 percent of the service pipes. It will depend on the cooperation of property owners, either to let the firm’s employees into their basement or to approve the digging of a hole near the edge of their property to check the pipe.

People who are concerned that they may have lead or galvanized steel service pipes, which can contain traces of lead and zinc, can check the pipes themselves, Fazzino said.

He said a customer can use a coin to scratch the surface of the pipe between their basement foundation and water meter. If the scratch reveals a shiny copper-colored metal, the service pipe is copper or brass, he explained, while a shiny silver color indicates lead or galvanized steel.

The customer can use a magnet to get further information, Fazzino added, with magnetic attraction indicating galvanized steel and lack of attraction indicating another metal.

The council’s resolution says the city already has preliminary state approval for the $4.5 million construction phase of the project.

Fazzino said the engineering firm will develop a cost estimate based on what it finds in the survey, to be complete by next October.

He said he hopes the figure will be less than $4.5 million. Based on experience, Fazzino said, some 10 percent of the roughly 2,500 service lines still to be surveyed — 250 lines — may be galvanized steel or lead and require replacement.

Throughout his more than 20 years with the department, Fazzino said, it has taken water samples from 30 customers every three years to test for lead contamination.

He said the customers sampled are in areas where lead contamination is most likely based on the age of buildings. Customers are instructed to draw the water samples first thing in the morning, when lead concentrations are likely to be highest, he added.

Fazzino said the testing has never produced a “hit” for contamination.

Still, rare as it may be, lead contamination is an important problem.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “agree that there is no known safe level of lead in a child's blood,” according to EPA’s website.

“A dose of lead that would have little effect on an adult can have a significant effect on a child,” the website says. “In children, low levels of exposure have been linked to damage to the central and peripheral nervous system, learning disabilities, shorter stature, impaired hearing, and impaired formation and function of blood cells.”

Milford OKs $20M makeover of former Subway site for online auto parts dealer FCP Euro

Nick Sambides

MILFORD — Online auto-parts company FCP Euro will be moving into a new 160,000-square-foot headquarters on the land formerly occupied by Subway as part of a $20 million project to reuse the site now that the sandwich chain has moved its headquarters to Shelton.

The Planning and Zoning Board cleared the way for the move with a 9-1 vote to approve a zoning change and 8-2 in favor of a special permit for the project that includes construction of a warehouse to replace the former main Subway headquarters building at 325 Sub Way.

The owner of the property, Shelton developer Robert Scinto, said the approval was a victory for FCP and the city — 200 jobs kept in Milford with the consolidation of two FCP locations onto his property, he said.

"We worked very hard on this for a very long time," Scinto said after the meeting. "In everything you do, there's tradeoffs. The tradeoff is building a building which some people might think is offensive with the 200 jobs. So you may be affecting a few people but we think we can screen the property so that there won't be a problem."

FCP Euro, which owns a parts warehouse on Bic Drive and a store at 155 Hill St., imports and sells online genuine OE, and OEM parts for European-made cars including Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Volkswagen and Volvo. The company has been listed on Inc. Magazine's 5,000 Fastest Growing Private Companies list in 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. FCP Euro also recently opened another 160,000-square-foot warehouse in Arizona and forecasts revenues of close to $1 billion by 2028, according to company officials.

The vote came after FCP's plan hit some snags in early November and despite the impassioned opposition from neighbors who said that the project would have significant environmental impacts on adjacent Mondo Ponds Nature Preserve. The neighbors claimed FCP would generate light, wind, noise and pollution from its 20 tractor-trailer truck bays, truck traffic and vehicles using its 170-space parking lot and that its round-the-clock operations would harm the preserve's flora and wildlife and be hazardous and disruptive to the neighborhood.

The neighbors also thought that allowing a warehouse so close to the preserve would set a bad precedent that would allow other such buildings into the area.

Vice-Chairman Robert Satti and Chairman Jim Quish acknowledged the neighbors' concerns, but said they didn't see any facts to support them.

"I think it is a difficult choice that we have to make, "Satti said during the meeting. "I am sure (FCP Euro) will be cognizant of the area around the property, which includes the schools and the Mondo Pond area."

Quish said that the FCP plan "assures that we have a vibrant business" moving onto the Subway property that will show growth in the city,

Milford residents Tom DeMatteo and his wife, Diane Prior, who were among the leaders of the group that opposed FCP's plan. The couple said the board members did not listen to them.

"We thought that we had presented enough information that would raise enough questions to make them deny (the plan)," DeMatteo said after the meeting. "I was disappointed in how easily it passed. I thought it would be a lot closer than it was."

He added that changing the zone to allow the relocation was "ignoring the will of the neighborhood."

Prior said they would not have bought their home three years ago if the warehouse had been there at the time.

"I'm pretty furious," Prior said. 

Scinto said FCP's operation can avoid having a negative impact on the preserve with white pine trees planted along the preserve's property line. They would serve as a visual and sound block, Scinto said. He also spent several minutes after the meeting talking to the neighbors to arrange a meeting that could possibly address their concerns.

Scinto has said the project would improve the pond and wetlands water quality with the addition of runoff filtration.

The planning board in its decision did eliminate the potential on-site storage of about 200 gallons of engine oil waiting to be recycled within the warehouse.

Scinto estimated construction on the warehouse could start next summer and conclude in mid- to late 2025.

Northford Road in Wallingford to remain closed through May 2024

Nicole Zappone

WALLINGFORD – Northford Road’s closure has been extended until May 30, 2024, due to the replacement of the Northford Road Bridge.

Wallingford police say the closure begins 600 feet from the intersection of Tyler Mill Road and Northford Road. Traffic will continue to be detoured as Northford Road Bridge over the Muddy River is replaced.

The Town Council greenlit the $2 million bridge reconstruction project in March, with an initial expected completion date of late November.

Wallingford's engineering department first began eyeing repairs in 2015 after a state Department of Transportation inspection indicated the bridge required replacement due to structural deficiencies and labeled doing so a "high priority."

Town Hall initially allocated $1 million for bridge repairs eight years ago and moved to increase funding in March by an additional $1,030,000, raising the final price tag to $2,030,000.

Council Chairman Vincent Cervoni said at the time that the price increase came after the lowest qualified bid from a contractor came in at nearly $2 million.

"My recollection is the original estimate on the project in 2015 was\

Repairs to the nearly 100-year-old bridge will address a variety of safety concerns, including "deteriorating" concrete and rusting metal beams, Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. said.

Construction will also entail widening the bridge to accommodate two 12-foot road lanes and doubling the adjacent Muddy River opening from 20 to 40 feet wide with the goal of reducing flood risks in the area, town engineer Alison Kapushinski said.

From prosperity to hardship and back again: Hartford celebrates start of 155-unit apartment redevelopment of Fuller Brush complex

Michael Puffer

Community leaders, politicians and developers with New York-based real estate firm Shelbourne Global Solutions came together Tuesday morning to celebrate the pending launch of a 155-unit apartment redevelopment of the former Fuller Brush complex in Hartford’s North End.

The century-old industrial complex’s role in the community has fluctuated with its history and economic fortunes.

Community leaders and politicians on Tuesday took turns at a podium in a vast wing of the building that has already been stripped down ahead of reconstruction. Only support beams have been left standing. 

Lights and exposed wires hung from the ceiling. 

Shelbourne representatives said the first phases of redevelopment — creation of apartments and amenity spaces — will begin within days and take about 18 months to complete.

The addition of commercial and industrial space will follow as tenants are identified.

Steven Harris, a 76-year-old retired fire captain, recalled walking past Fuller Brush in his youth, knowing it was a source of employment, hope and pride. 

Later, the building hosted a state welfare office and was a sore spot in the neighborhood, a place where people had to prove poverty in order to qualify for badly needed support.

Janice Flemming-Butler, CEO of lobbying group Strategic Outreach Solutions, tearfully recalled sitting for hours in 90-degree heat in the building’s hallways as a child, waiting to see if her family would qualify for food stamps. 

She learned not to let welfare staff know her father was still at home for fear of losing access to food. 

For her, it was a place where shame began.

Flemming-Butler recalled in more recent years complaining to her friend Alan Lazowski, a real estate investor and head of LAZ Parking, about the seeming inability to spread the accelerating redevelopment of downtown Hartford to the North End. 

Lazowski spoke to his business associates at Shelbourne, leading to the real estate investment and development firm’s review of possibly redeveloping the century-old industrial complex at 3580 Main St.

“So, when I came back to this building with (Shelbourne Chief Strategist David Schick), I had so many mixed emotions, but I started visioning anew,”

Flemming-Butler recalled. “I started to see that young professionals could come back home, and they could come to this building and have the aesthetics of downtown, but in their community.”

Shelbourne recently finalized financing for the $42.1 million residential phase of the Fuller Brush redevelopment, which includes $22 million in private loans; $8.5 million in city and state loans; $6 million in developer equity; $4.5 million in state historic credits; and a $1.1 million federal grant, according to

Michael Freimuth, executive director of the Capital Region Development Authority.

Only five of the apartments are to be set aside at “affordable” rents. 

Flemming-Butler and others noted the neighborhood already has a significant amount of subsidized housing and that it’s important to add market-rate units, and associated commercial development, as a draw for young professionals and others seeking out amenities comparable to new apartment developments in downtown Hartford.

The entire Main Street complex is 326,000 square feet on 12.5 acres. Shelbourne plans to transform 174,560 square feet comprising the main building into housing, a project it has dubbed “Bristle & Main.” 

A separate 7,180-square-foot building will be transformed into amenity space during the first phase of development.

“I look at this as an ecosystem, not just for people living at Bristle & Main, but for the entire community,” Shelbourne Chief Operating Officer Michael Seidenfeld told the Hartford Business Journal. 

Waterbury hopes to spur interest in former Anamet factory site

LIVI STANFORD

WATERBURY – City officials expressed optimism as they put out their second request for proposals for a developer to redevelop the former Anamet factory site at 698 South Main St, which they view as an economic catalyst for new jobs and grand list growth.

“We are hopeful we will get some real interest,” Mayor Paul K. Pernerewski Jr. said Tuesday. “It is a very attractive site. I am optimistic we are going to have a good developer get in there and make some real good use of the property.”

Board of Aldermen President Michael DiGiovancarlo said private investors have a strong interest in the site.

“We just need to make sure we get the right development down there: one that creates jobs and grows the grand list on the commercial side,” he said.

Tommy Hyde, interim director of Waterbury Development Corp., said the city is open to multiple uses for the property, including manufacturing and transportation logistics. City officials said Anamet, a 17-acre brownfield site, including a 180-square-foot High Bay building, is crucial to revitalizing the South End.

On Sept. 6, city officials terminated negotiations with Ideal Fish concerning Anamet after expressing concerns that negotiations were not progressing the way they had hoped.

Hyde has said the project is more complicated because Anamet is a large brownfield site. When the city put out its first request for proposals last year, it had yet to complete the environmental study at the site, he noted. Significant unknowns about the property at the time may have deterred some developers from applying, Hyde said.

Since last year, however, the city has spent $1.5 million to demolish three buildings, abate the High Bay building, map the underground utilities and conduct additional sampling of the site to fully understand the extent of the contaminants, Hyde said.

The Anamet site is owned by 698 South Main St. Inc., which was set up to hold the property.

The former factory was used for manufacturing from 1812 to 1977 by Benedict and Burnham Manufacturing Co., American Brass Co., Anaconda American Brass Co. and ARCO, according to the request for proposals.

Waterbury Development Corp. oversees the grants and remediation of the site. To date, $9.5 million has been received for work toward its rehabilitation, most of which has been spent, Hyde said. It will cost another estimated $5 million to clean up and remediate the site.

Joe McGrath, the city’s economic development director, said the redevelopment of Anamet is long overdue.

“It has so much potential,” he said. “It is a huge opportunity for the city. The development will bring grand list growth to the city. The potential to develop unused land is also an economic driver for the city.”

Hyde said bids for Anamet are due Feb. 16, 2024.

“We will create a selection committee to review the bids,” he said. “We will review the bids and determine the best next steps.”