Brownfields Update for the Pacific Northwest

Sharon Kophs is a dealmaker. But she isn’t the kind with an overly firm handshake or a steely glint in her eye.

Kophs, works for Washington State’s Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED), and is decidedly low-key. Just don’t let her niceness and small-town folksiness fool you. As program manager for the $5.8 million state-run Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund Program, she shepherds projects through the application, funding, cleanup and restoration process.

Deals can be a challenge
Since starting work at CTED in 2000 Kophs has helped usher in economic development on contaminated land that has sat idle for decades. Often that means jumping in her orange Saturn SUV and huddling with developers hundreds of miles away or talking one on one with city managers.

No matter the size or scope of a project, it’s up to Kophs to find ways to make deals happen even when landowners are reluctant or cleanup costs are steep. Some property owners insist their land, despite years of contamination, is worth more than a private developer or municipality is willing to pay.

Other times, Kophs works to persuade cities that foreclosed land with environmental problems is a valuable public asset worth saving. With a business degree under her belt, Kophs doesn’t forget the financial bottom line, especially among private-sector partners.

That’s one reason she’s pushing for a faster timeline in completing projects. Currently, most brownfields work in Washington takes about two years from the time an application is filed to the ribbon-cutting ceremony on a new building or development.

The Brownfields Coalition
Kophs also represents the state as part of the Brownfields Coalition, which includes King County, and the cities of Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane as partners. The coalition offers developers the chance to snag low-interest loans and a wealth of technical expertise.

These days more private sector developers are keeping the coalition busy, having overcome their reluctance to go through the additional steps to secure state loans, or to comply with public comment periods. “One reason it’s growing is that we provide technical assistance throughout the cleanup process,” Kophs says. “It’s a cooperative program with the state’s Department of Ecology.”

One of the coalition’s largest projects is currently underway in Spokane. Work is about to begin on a former railroad repair and maintenance facility along the north side of the Spokane River. Cleaning up 76 acres of contaminated soil will help open up several miles of high-value commercial and residential space, all within walking distance of downtown.

A history of environmental work
Before working for CTED, Kophs held a number of environmental cleanup positions-from helping create environmental cleanup technologies within EPA to doing education and outreach at the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute.

Kophs, who grew up in Kennewick, got her start in cleanup work at the nearby Hanford Nuclear Reservation. In 1990 she headed back to school and earned a master’s degree in public administration with a focus on environmental policy from Eastern Washington University.

Kophs says nothing pleases her more than seeing contaminated land cleaned up and rehabbed for economic development.

“It’s creating more livable, safer spaces,” she says.