Press Release

For Immediate Release

May 19, 2026

Contact:

Jennifer Rose

Press Secretary, Office of Mayor Paul K. Pernerewski, Jr.

Email: Jrose@waterburyct.org

Mayor Paul Pernerewski Statement Regarding PCB Contamination Remediation Vote

(WATERBURY, CT) For weeks, the City of Waterbury and the Waterbury Development Corporation have been working to address a serious environmental contamination issue discovered at the Mad River Redevelopment Corridor site located at 777 South Main Street.

During remediation activities, a previously unidentified 10,000-gallon underground storage tank containing PCB-contaminated oily water and sludge, along with surrounding soil contamination measuring approximately 2,200 parts per million, was discovered adjacent to the banks of the Mad River by contractors.

This is a serious environmental and public health matter involving carcinogenic contaminants regulated under federal law through the Toxic Substances Control Act.

Environmental professionals, engineers, remediation experts, and state officials all recognized the urgency of this situation. The Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development approved additional funding to remove the tank and continue remediation work. On May 11, 2026, the Waterbury Development Corporation brought forward the necessary contract amendment before the Board of Aldermen to allow this dangerous material to be safely removed before further contamination could occur.

Yet despite the documented environmental and public health risks, and despite a majority of aldermen voting in favor of the remediation effort, the amendment failed because it did not receive the 11 affirmative votes required for passage.

Most troubling is that three of the aldermen who voted no represent the very district where this contamination exists.

Following the Board s failure to approve the amendment, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection issued a violation notice. That notice included potential enforcement penalties of up to $25,000 per day should the city fail to take corrective action, creating an even greater urgency to act before the existing remediation contract expired.

Because the Board s regular meeting schedule would not allow the matter to wait until the next scheduled meeting, I called for a special meeting to take place on May 18, 2026, to prevent further delays and allow the city to move forward with remediation efforts.

During that special meeting, members of the minority caucus openly connected the original failed vote to political grievances regarding Board procedures and internal political disputes, rather than the merits of the environmental remediation itself.

Minority Leader Kelly Zimmermann stated:
'We have asked, we have begged, we have pleaded for our rules to be changed... That s what s going on here, that s why you didn t receive the 11 votes, because we have no respect, we feel that there isn t respect being put towards the process.'

When questioned further during the meeting, Alderwoman Zimmermann stated:
'It's not to keep a contaminate in the ground or anything like that.'

Board President Michael DiGiovancarlo then directly questioned whether the minority caucus was "going to basically hijack every vote and not do what s good for the City of Waterbury s residents because you're mad because your rules didn't get voted in."

In response, Alderwoman Zimmermann stated:
'You guys have not come to the table for compromising on anything. So why would we not respect the process? You don't want to respect the process at all.'

She later added:
'Why are we having it on the record to get me to say that I'm hijacking the rules and hijacking contaminates in the ground to be on the record so it can be in the newspaper above the fold tomorrow because, no that's not the purpose.'

The residents of Waterbury should be deeply troubled that political disputes and procedural grievances became intertwined with a matter involving dangerous environmental contamination and public health.

At the May 18 special meeting, the amendment ultimately passed unanimously among those present. Notably absent, however, were Aldermen Rafael Feliciano-Roman, Adrian Sanchez, and Sandra Martinez-McCarthy, the very aldermen representing the district where this contamination issue is located and who had previously voted to reject the clean-up.

Residents deserve to ask why elected officials who represent the impacted neighborhood were absent during one of the most significant environmental public safety votes affecting their constituents.

Because of the initial failed vote, the city was placed in a position where state intervention became necessary and emergency action had to be taken to avoid additional environmental exposure, liability, delays, fines and escalating remediation costs.

This administration will not stop fighting to protect the health and safety of Waterbury residents. We will continue working with state and federal environmental agencies to ensure this contamination is addressed responsibly, lawfully, and without unnecessary political interference.

The residents of Waterbury deserve leadership focused on protecting neighborhoods, safeguarding public health, and doing what is right for the community, not using an environmental crisis as leverage in political disputes."

Roll Call Vote: May 11, 2026 Board of Aldermen Meeting

Item #13: Amendment #1 to Construction Contract for Environmental Waste Remediation at 359 Mill Street and 777 South Main Street

YES Votes (9):
Ian Blake, Ken Curran, John Drewry, Jeff Hunter, Sean Mosley, George Noujaim, Mike Rinaldi, Belinda Weaver, Michael DiGiovancarlo

NO Votes (6):
Rafael Feliciano-Roman, Mike Grosso, Bryan McEntee, Sandra Martinez-McCarthy, Adrian Sanchez, Kelly Zimmermann

The amendment failed because 11 affirmative votes were required for passage.

Three of the six NO votes were cast by aldermen representing Waterbury s 5th District, the district in which the contamination site is located.

Appendix A: Transcript Excerpt from May 18, 2026 Special Meeting of the Board of Aldermen

The following transcript excerpt reflects discussion during the May 18, 2026 special meeting regarding the failed May 11 remediation vote and subsequent emergency action required to address the PCB contamination remediation project.

Minority Leader Kelly Zimmermann:
"We have asked, we have begged, we have pleaded for our rules to be changed. So we have committee meetings. Every single person outside of the two minority caucuses, voted to not change the rules. The rules were to follow the charter and, the rules that we wanted to progress with was to follow the charter and to have the right of passage for each item and give it its respect for its right of passage to go to the following meeting. That's what's going on here, that's why you didn't receive the 11 votes because we have no respect, we feel that there isn't respect being put towards the process."

Minority Leader Kelly Zimmermann:
"Mr. Nardozzi, how did the State come to find the, how did these fines again can you repeat how these fines came up and how the state, mind you this was all on public record that we had the tank in the ground and this isn't towards you, that we had the tank in the ground and all these other things that now we're being punished for. Can you go through the process again of why we're being fined? And was it because of timing, could we have done this sooner so that way it would've had it's right way of passage. And I know your team is working hard I know that there's a lot of projects going on. But I don t think that everyone here within this body understand why you get the no's on the 11 threshold. And why now we receive this fine. It's not to keep a contaminate in the ground or anything like that. Can you please repeat."

Dr. James Nardozzi:
"I m a little confused by your question, on the 11 votes and that issue?"

Minority Leader Kelly Zimmermann:
"No can you please repeat why we were fined."

Dr. James Nardozzi:
"Well we have not been fined, I'm sorry we have not been fined. We have been noticed that we will be fined if we fail to take action."

Minority Leader Kelly Zimmermann:
"Okay thank you."

Board President Michael DiGiovancarlo:
"And just for the record, Alderwoman Zimmerman so you're saying that since your rules were not voted in, you're going to basically hijack every vote and not do what s good for the City of Waterbury s residents because you're mad because your rules didn't get voted in. Because that's what you stated just before you asked Dr. Nardozzi a question. Am I clear to understand that's what you guys are going to do, you're going to stonewall any good vote because you're mad about rules not getting approved that rules were voted on the proper way in January. Just so I'm clear now."

Minority Leader Kelly Zimmermann:
"It's not a proper way or not Mr. President, you guys have not come to the table for compromising on anything. So why would we not respect the process? You don t want to respect the process at all."

Board President Michael DiGiovancarlo:
"At what point do we not compromise by the way?"

Minority Leader Kelly Zimmermann:
"And I don t understand why we're going back and forth right now because I don't even know if that s Roberts Rules of Order but. So why are we having it on the record to get me to say that I'm hijacking the rules and hijacking contaminates in the ground to be on the record so it can be in the newspaper above the fold tomorrow because no that's not the purpose."

Above Exchange Time Stamp: 15:45 19:15
https://www.youtube.com/live/SmlL2x6RL2s?si=6eSarMiYoqlQ6wZv

Attached to this release are supporting materials, including an aerial site map identifying the precise location of the discovered underground storage tank adjacent to the bank of the Mad River, as well as the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Notice of Violation issued in connection with this matter.

Relevant Links

Notice of Violation from CT DEEP RE South End Site

Map Showing Location of Discovered Tank Adjacent to Mad River