New Haven Moves to Acquire Abandoned English Station Plant for Public Park

New Haven is moving to acquire the decommissioned English Station power plant on Ball Island and redevelop the contaminated 8.6-acre site into a public park, even as state regulators eliminated a $2 million annual penalty previously imposed on the utility responsible for cleanup, city officials confirmed.

Mayor Justin Elicker reaffirmed the city's commitment to the project on March 9, 2026, saying the administration would pursue the site through negotiation or, if necessary, eminent domain. The New Haven Board of Alders began reviewing the acquisition proposal on March 4, 2026.

English Station: Decades of Contamination in New Haven

The English Station power plant, a defunct facility on Ball Island in the Mill River, has sat abandoned and contaminated for years. The site contains PCBs, asbestos, and heavy metals, making it one of the most environmentally compromised properties in the city.

United Illuminating (UI), the utility that operated the plant, agreed in a 2017 partial consent order to invest $30 million to clean up the contamination and complete the project by 2019 — a commitment made as a condition of an Iberdrola corporate merger. UI failed to meet that deadline.

In 2023, the state's Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) imposed a $2 million annual fine on UI for the missed cleanup. That fine was subsequently reduced and then dropped entirely by PURA, pending resolution of related court cases. The property itself is owned not by UI but by holding companies Paramount View Millennium LLC and Haven River Properties LLC.

A judge sent the cleanup dispute back to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in August 2025, and the matter remains unresolved.

PURA Drops Fine, Approves $68 Million Rate Hike

PURA's decision to eliminate the annual cleanup penalty came simultaneously with the agency's approval of nearly $68 million in additional revenue through a rate hike for UI customers — a combination that drew immediate criticism from state officials.

State Attorney General William Tong issued a statement condemning the twin decisions, accusing PURA of "turning its back entirely on accountability for UI's repeated failures" by allowing the rate increase while dropping enforcement against the utility.

City Presses Forward on Acquisition

Despite the regulatory setback, New Haven officials said they remain committed to acquiring the English Station property. Mike Piscitelli, the city's Economic Development Administrator, told the Fair Haven Community Management Team that PURA's decision "is taking a little bit of the pressure off UI to do something quickly."

The city has proposed converting the site into a public park with recreational amenities including an outdoor swimming pool. Community outreach on the development concept has generated significant support, particularly in the Fair Haven neighborhood adjacent to the Ball Island site.

The city is first pursuing acquisition through direct negotiation with the property owners. If those negotiations fail, city officials have said eminent domain remains an option under consideration.

Board of Alders Divided

The acquisition proposal has exposed divisions on the Board of Alders. Alder Magda Natal of Ward 16 backed the plan in a February committee vote, saying it was "time for us to begin to move forward" on the long-stalled waterfront property.

Alder Frank Redente Jr. of Ward 15 has opposed the effort, stating he is "firmly against the pool" and citing concerns about the city's long-term capacity to fund and maintain the proposed facility.

The city has not released construction timelines, design specifications, or a funding plan for the proposed park beyond the initial community outreach phase.

Got a tip? Reach out to us at tips@thequinnipiacpost.com.