HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Connecticut’s congressional delegation said the federal funding they fought for to pay for research on crumbling foundations is included in a spending bill.
The text for the compromise version of the bill, made public Monday night, includes $1.5 million for the National Institute of Standards and Technology to research the effects of an iron sulfide called pyrrhotite on concrete aggregate, the delegation said. The agency would also be required to create a risk-rating scale to determine how much pyrrhotite poses a danger.
“Thousands of homeowners in Connecticut and Massachusetts have crumbling foundations,” the delegation said in a joint statement. “We need a better understanding of the scope of the crisis and of the mineral pyrrhotite.”
The money was included in the appropriations bill for fiscal 2020 for Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies. Final passage of the bill could happen later this week, the delegation said.
Members of the delegation and Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Richard Neal had wanted $4 million set aside for the research, but the Senate passed a package with $1.5 million.
Connecticut’s highest court ruled last month against several homeowners who sued their insurers after having their claims denied.
The material containing pyrrhotite has been traced to a Willington quarry used between 1983 and 2015 by a now-defunct concrete company.
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