NEWS FLASH: City of Fort Dodge, Iowa, Selected for $500,000 EPA Brownfields Grant to Clean Up Wahkonsa Annex
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Many sites across the City of Fort of Dodge that were once used for industrial and commercial purposes are no longer in productive use. The City of Fort Dodge, lenders, investors, developers, and other potential stakeholders are afraid that involvement with these sites may result in environmental liability for any contamination that may be present at the sites. Oftentimes, the belief that a given site may be contaminated is merely based upon site history and other forms of qualitative, inconclusive information.
However, even the potential of legal and economic liability for contamination at these sites is significant enough to hinder further consideration of these sites for reuse or redevelopment. Therefore, potential stakeholders are more attracted to sites in pristine areas, called "greenfields." Development of these sites contributes to urban sprawl, higher municipal infrastructure costs, and the environmental degradation that often follows. The continued neglect of abandoned sites can result in blighted areas, rife with dilapidated industrial and commercial facilities that threaten the environment, create safety and health risks for residents, drive unemployment up, and foster a sense of hopelessness. These areas are called "brownfields." Fort Dodge has applied for and received financial assistance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the purpose of addressing brownfields. The Adobe PDF file on the left side of this page provides a brief overview of EPA's role in the Fort Dodge Brownfield program. Public Law 107-118 (H.R. 2869) - "Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act" (i.e., Brownfields Law) defines a "Brownfield Site" to mean: "...real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant." Brownfield sites include all "real property," including residential, as well as commercial and industrial properties. It is estimated that there are more than 450,000 brownfields in the U.S. Cleaning up and reinvesting in these properties increases local tax bases, facilitates job growth, utilizes existing infrastructure, takes development pressures off of undeveloped, open land, and both improves and protects the environment. EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower states, communities, and other stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. One tool EPA utilizes to empower stakeholders is its Brownfields cooperative agreements. Brownfields cooperative agreements serve as the foundation of EPA's Brownfields Program and support revitalization efforts by funding environmental assessment, cleanup, and job training activities. Brownfields Assessment Grants provide funding for brownfield inventories, planning, environmental assessments, and community outreach. Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund Grantsprovide funding to capitalize loans that are used to clean up brownfields. Brownfields Job Training Grants provide environmental training for residents of brownfields communities. Brownfields Cleanup Grants provide direct funding for cleanup activities at certain properties, which may include planned green-space, recreational, or other nonprofit uses. | ||||||
