Benton-Franklin Council of Governments is selected for $600,000 in EPA Brownfields redevelopment funding
Funds will be used to conduct assessments and cleanup planning in support of rejuvenating formerly contaminated properties in Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland
The Benton-Franklin Council of Governments is celebrating the announcement of their selection for funding under EPA’s Brownfields Assessment Grant program. The selectee will be awarded $600,000 in funding for their project, following the submission of a comprehensive work plan.
In EPA’s Region 10 (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington) a total of nine projects have been selected to receive nearly $4.1 million in EPA Brownfields funding. Nationwide, 151 communities were selected to receive grant awards totaling $66.5 million in EPA Brownfields funding. Brownfields grants often spark robust local and regional redevelopment campaigns, helping to build stronger neighborhoods and spurring local economies.
Michelle Pirzadeh, EPA Acting Regional Administrator in Seattle, is pleased to announce the agency’s most recent round of Brownfields investments in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. “It’s really all about our tribal, state and local partners,” Pirzadeh said. “They have enthusiastically embraced Brownfields redevelopment and its positive community impact. Time and time again, we see how strong local leadership coupled with the infusion of federal funds can breathe new life into idle properties.”
EPA has selected the Benton-Franklin Council of Governments for a $600,000 Brownfields Assessment Coalition Grant. Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct twelve Phase I and eight Phase II environmental site assessments and develop cleanup and reuse plans. Grant funds also will be used to develop an inventory of sites and conduct community outreach activities. Assessment activities will focus on properties within the communities of Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland, which are all coalition partners. Priority sites include the former Vista Field Airport site and abandoned properties along the riverfront in Kennewick; a former riverfront industrial area, Marine Terminal, and a former gas station in Pasco; and the Columbia River Landfill site and Uptown Shopping Center in Richland. For more information about this project, contact Davin Diaz, Economic Development Manager, Benton-Franklin Council of Governments, 509-943-9185.
EPA Assessment Brownfields Grants provide funding to carry out a range of eligible assessment and cleanup planning activities within a proposed target area, such as a neighborhood, neighboring towns, a district, a corridor, a shared planning area or a census tract. Since its inception in 1995, EPA's Brownfields and Land Revitalization Program has grown into a proven, results-oriented program that has changed the way communities address and manage contaminated property.
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EPA’s Region 10 serves communities in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and 271 Tribal Nations. Learn more about EPA’s work in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest at: https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-region-10-pacific-northwest.
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