Eligibility

As stipulated in Connecticut General Statutes Section 12-263m, dry cleaning operators on property sites that would require assessment and remediation should:

1. Register with the CT Department of Revenue Services, and
2. regularly remit any collected dry cleaning services surcharges to Connecticut Department of Revenue Services (CT DRS) for the Connecticut Dry Cleaning Establishment Remediation Fund.

Here are some of the eligibility requirements for businesses to be invited to apply to the dry cleaning establishment remediation fund program:

• Be a current dry cleaning operator with demonstrated use of hazardous chemicals and/or solvents on the property site, or a prior dry-cleaner with a likelihood of having previously used hazardous chemicals and/or solvents on the property site;
• be a dry cleaning operator in business at least one year prior to the application for assistance from this dry cleaning establishment fund;
• be a dry cleaning establishment with proof of having remitted the dry cleaning surcharge to CT DRS, or the property address has a history of having been the site of a former dry cleaning establishment that had remitted dry cleaning surcharges to CT DRS;
• be an owner (landlord) of a property with a dry cleaning site, or a property owner where there was formerly a dry cleaning establishment on site;
• be a business with no current and outstanding litigation proceedings involving the applicant; and
• be sure to identify a responsible certifying party that would complete the site investigation and remediation, including identifying the funding source and all costs to complete the project.
  
  

Evaluation Criteria 
It is ultimately up to DECD Commissioner’s discretion to grant or deny financial award. Applications  will be evaluated on the case by case scenario and based on the economic benefits for the state. For the property owners that do not have proof of paid surcharges and their property has been already redeveloped into a different use, DECD will decline the application for funding.

DECD will consider funding applications for property owners that do not have proof of paid surcharges but their property includes a derelict dry cleaner business, may have a potential health concerns such as impacting the groundwater supply, and remediation and redevelopment of such property will provide economic benefit to the state.

Grant Size & Initial Copay

No more than $300,000 from the Dry Cleaning Establishment Remediation Fund may be granted per real property site.

 

Initial Co-pay (cost-sharing)

By law, all dry cleaning establishments are to bear the first $10,000 in costs for a given dry cleaning contamination assessment and/or remediation project. Proof of expending the initial $10,000 on eligible expenditures is required before any grant would be disbursed.

If an applicant is re-applying (either for a new application, or another request for an ongoing project), and is seeking a portion of or the entirety of the balance of the remainder of any maximum $300,000 per site, then such subsequent returning applications would be required to pay the $10,000co-pay.