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Residents urge council to abandon plan to site DPW at Century Brass over aquifer concerns
Summary
Several residents told the New Milford Town Council on April 13 that relocating the Department of Public Works to the Century Brass site risks contaminating a local aquifer, citing historical pollution, ongoing DEEP investigation and the town's Plan of Conservation & Development.
Residents pressed the New Milford Town Council on April 13 to reconsider plans to relocate the town's Department of Public Works (DPW) to the former Century Brass site, saying the parcel sits over an aquifer that serves thousands of homes and has a history of industrial contamination.
The comments came during the meeting’s public-comment period, where multiple speakers cited environmental and health risks and asked the council to seek an alternative location. "This site is historically not clean," said Kate O’Keefe, a Washington resident affiliated with the Clean Water Coalition, noting that the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is still investigating documented polluted wells at the location. "DEEP is still investigating the site," she said, and she pointed to language in the town’s Plan of Conservation & Development that advises against development in environmentally sensitive areas.
Other residents echoed that concern. Jackie Eaton said she supports paying higher taxes if those funds produce services but urged the council that "DPW should not be built on the aquifer." Ecologist Kate Losee told the council she has observed what she described as impacts to air and water that correlate with "higher rates of cancer and disease" in areas near historically polluted sites. Hilary Ram said the issue "is not about opposing DPW" but about protecting water supplies used by homes, schools and businesses.
Councilors did not take formal action on the DPW siting at the April 13 meeting. The remarks were recorded as public comment; no vote or directive to staff was shown in the minutes. The council’s agenda that night focused on consent items, event road closures, donations and grant acceptances.
Next steps for the DPW siting were not specified in the meeting record. Residents and commenters asked the council to take the DEEP investigation and the POCD guidance into account before advancing any relocation plans.
