Feds Award $700,000 Crumbling Foundation Research Grant To UConn

STORRS, CT — U.S. Reps Joe Courtney (CT-2nd District) and John Larson (CT-1st District) announced Tuesdsay that that federal funding they helped secure in an appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2020 to conduct research on the state's crumbling foundation crisis has been awarded to the University of Connecticut.

Last year, Courtney, Larson, and the Connecticut congressional delegation worked to secure $1.5 million in funding for the National Institute of Standards and Technology to conduct research on the effects of the mineral pyrrhotite on concrete aggregate.

The NIST has awarded UConn $768,000 in federal funding that will support research that "captures information on the premature degradation of concrete foundations that contain pyrrhotite, and seeks to build a risk assessment framework for identifying and evaluating potential mitigation strategies."

Said Courtney, "It's good to see the funding we worked to secure for crumbling foundations research get turned around so quickly, and even better to see it put to use here with the experts at UConn in eastern Connecticut."

He added, "UCONN already has valuable experience with this sort of work, and they've got research under way now. This new round of more than $760,000 in federal funding will help to support that work and see it towards completion. We've got thousands of people in eastern Connecticut and across our region with crumbling foundations, and this research will help us get a better understanding of the scope of the crisis, and a clearer understanding of the risks of pyrrhotite and the levels at which it poses a true danger to the integrity of a concrete foundation. The House has shown real support for our efforts to address crumbling foundations this year—including through our sweeping infrastructure investment bill—and we’ll keep pressing ahead for more."

Larson said the monetary award, "highlights how this crisis is an all hands on deck situation."

He added, "With federal resources, local leadership, and UConn;s expertise, this effort will further our understanding of how pyrrhotite actually affects building foundations. I will continue to work with Rep. Courtney to pursue every possible avenue to deliver relief to homeowners in Eastern and Central Connecticut,” said Congressman Larson.