The Environmental Protection Agency has selected the Grays Harbor Council of Governments for a $600,000 brownfields assessment coalition grant.
Community-wide hazardous substances grant funds will be used to conduct nine Phase I and six Phase II environmental site assessments, and prepare three cleanup plans. Community-wide petroleum grant funds will be used to conduct the same tasks at sites with potential petroleum contamination. Grant funds of both types also will be used to update the current brownfields inventory, create up to two area-wide plans, and support community outreach and involvement activities.
Andrea Pedersen, who drafted the grant proposal late last year, said assessments will be used in several key focus areas, including the Fry Creek Restoration Area in West Aberdeen/East Hoquiam, the Posey Plant Area in East Hoquiam, downtown Aberdeen, and downtown Cosmopolis. She said known and potential brownfield sites in these areas include former gas stations, former auto repair shops, former dry cleaners, former manufacturing plants, salvage yards, underutilized warehouses and commercial facilities, and old buildings with lead-based paint or asbestos.
A brownfield site is a property where the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.
A Phase I environmental site assessment is simply identifying properties that may qualify as a brownfield site. The Phase II assessment is more thorough and can include soil and water sampling, among other tests, to identify the quantity and type of contaminant on the property.
In 2002, the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act was passed to help states and communities clean up and revitalize brownfields sites. Under this law, the Environmental Protection Agency provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through four competitive grant programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants.
