Governor Rell:  $7.65 Million to Help Navy to Upgrade Sub Base

January 21, 2009

Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced that a total of $7.65 million in grants to the United States Navy to fund infrastructure upgrades at the Naval Submarine Base New London at Groton is expected to be approved when the State Bond Commission meets on January 30th. 

A $4.65 million grant will fund upgrades to the Sub Base’s diver facility, and a $3 million grant will go toward replacing the base’s power plant boilers. The funds are part of $40 million that has been set aside for infrastructure improvements on the Sub Base.  The grants are believed to represent the most significant commitment by a state to upgrade the operational infrastructure of a federal military base.

“These grants to the Navy aim to improve the Sub Base and preserve quality defense jobs in  Connecticut ,” Governor Rell said.  “Team Connecticut fought successfully to prevent the base from closing less than four years ago.  It was an historic victory, but we knew we had to continue to invest in the base and enhance its value in order to keep it from appearing on a future closure list.  I want Connecticut residents and the federal government to know that our commitment to keeping the Sub Base right here in Groton has never been stronger.

“None of us will ever forget how we felt when we saw the Sub Base appear on the list of recommended base closures in 2005.  We were resolute.  We said we would work as a team to get the base taken off the list, and we did just that.  We also said that we would find a way to partner with the Navy to make key infrastructure improvements.  These new facilities will further modernize the base so that Groton remains the Submarine Capital of the World.

“Not only will this funding help to keep people working at the Sub Base, it will also provide a mini stimulus to the economy by creating construction jobs.   The facilities will also provide savings for the Navy over the long term, because they will be much more energy efficient than the old ones they will replace.”

The current diver facility is housed in one of the oldest buildings on the base, built in 1918.  It lacks insulation and is costly to heat.  The new structure will support 40 Naval Submarine Support Facility divers.  The power plant upgrade is part of an effort to replace inefficient 1960-era boilers that better meet environmental standards.

State economists estimate that the 31,500 jobs are linked in various ways to the base, a figure that includes employees at hundreds of small private subcontractors and the Electric Boat Corporation, a division of General Dynamics that makes and repairs submarines.