Region: Legislature to consider $7 million for hospital cleanup

Preston, Mohegan officials need backing before transfer of Norwich Hospital property

Preston — The town’s request for $7 million to finish the cleanup of the former Norwich Hospital property will be included in a bond package that could be voted on by state legislators today and be placed on the next state Bond Commission agenda, state Sen. Cathy

Osten, D-Sprague said Tuesday.

Preston town officials and leaders of the Mohegan Tribe requested the funding in October after environmental cleanup crews discovered extensive coal ash contamination throughout the former state mental illness hospital. The state had used coal ash as a subsurface material for roadbeds and beneath parking lots, complicating the final cleanup before the town can turn over ownership of the 393-acre property to Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment. The final cleanup is estimated at $9 million, including a $2 million low-interest loan the town had secured earlier from the state.

The $7 million grant request was stalled in the monthslong discussion of transportation funding and whether the state legislature should consider tolls to fund transportation improvements.

Preston’s agreement with MGE calls for transferring property ownership once the cleanup is completed. MGE has proposed a $400 million to $600 million development with a possible theme park, indoor water park, synthetic skiing, upscale camping and RV park, recreational and sports complexes, retail, hotels and senior housing.

“I really think this is a great thing,” Osten said Tuesday. “It’s a good economic development strategy and will benefit the whole region, which is why I’ve been fighting so hard for it.”

Tribal leaders had met with Gov. Ned Lamont on March 2 and received assurance that the governor was aware of the request and would include funding in the next bond package. The Mohegan Tribal Council is expected to receive a development plan from its hired development consultant by early April for the former hospital property, called Preston Riverwalk.

“Obviously, we’re thrilled, and we’re looking forward to when it gets approved and signed,” Preston Redevelopment Agency

Chairman Sean Nugent said. “I really have to thank (Osten) tremendously. Sen. Osten drove it from the beginning.”

Nugent and First Selectwoman Sandra Allyn-Gauthier also thanked state Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton, and state Rep. Mike France, R-Ledyard, both of whom represent Preston, and state Sen. Paul Formica, R-East Lyme, who worked with Osten on the request. The two sent a joint letter to Lamont last week and France attended meetings town officials held on the cleanup needs with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the Department of Economic and Community Development.

The funding would be part of DECD’s bond package, according to Osten.

“We’re looking forward to moving forward,” Allyn-Gauthier said. “It’s a step in the process. We will have to work through the process.”

“We are greatly appreciative of the legislative bicameral and bipartisan support, led by Senator Osten, that has shown they share our vision for this transformation project in Preston,” Mohegan Tribal Chairman James Gessner said in an email statement to The Day on Tuesday. “Governor Lamont told me at our first meeting that he was committed to this project, and this is clearly a demonstration of that commitment. We are grateful.”