Brownfields Update for the Pacific Northwest

More guidelines expected to be released soon

Region 10 brownfields programs and their administrators are in a wait-and-see mode, awaiting the release of news and guidelines determining how money from the historic American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will be distributed among EPA programs.

Susan Morales, EPA’s Region 10 brownfields coordinator, expects more news to come within the upcoming month. “Things are definitely moving,” Morales says. “I think the next month will probably be the big one.”

The Recovery Act (www.epa.gov/recovery) includes $7.22 billion for projects and programs administered by EPA. About $200 million will go toward the clean up of leaking underground storage tanks (LUSTs) at shovel-ready sites around the nation. That money will be divided among the states. Alaska is expected to receive $999,000, Idaho nearly $1.2 million, Oregon nearly $2.7 million and Washington $3.4 million.

While these monies aren’t specifically designated for brownfields, they will have a major impact on brownfields projects nationwide. If all LUST Recovery Act money is used directly for assessment and cleanup work, EPA estimates thousands of jobs and 1,600 cleanups will occur.

Under the Recovery Act, about $100 million also will be given to brownfields for competitive grants to evaluate and clean up former industrial and commercial sites. The funds will be awarded to eligible entities through job training, revolving loan fund (RLF), assessment and cleanup grants. To ensure that money under the Recovery Act is distributed quickly, EPA will use the 2009 competition for assessment, revolving loan fund and cleanup grants to award Recovery Act funds and brownfields general program funds to selected applicants.

On the job training side, about $5 million is expected to be available to provide training for jobs and to facilitate job creation in the assessment, remediation or preparation of brownfields sites, according to EPA. EPA expects to award 10 to 12 cooperative agreements, each with a maximum value of $500,000. Preference will be given to projects that can be started and completed expeditiously, with funding awarded in June, according to EPA.

About $40 million in Recovery Act funds also will be used to supplement eligible RLF grants. The deadline for applying for the funds was May 1. Several RLF managers in Region 10 are applying for the supplemental funds:

• In Idaho, the Reuse Idaho Brownfields Coalition is applying for an additional $2.5 million.
• In Washington, the RLF coalition consisting of King County and the cities of Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane is requesting about $4 million, says Dan Koroma, Washington State Department of Ecology program manager.
• In Oregon, the RLF coalition consisting of the state, city of Coos Bay, Tri-County Metro Transit District and Portland is expecting to submit a request for $2 million in supplemental funding, says Karen Homolac, brownfields program manager for the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department.

Pat Engel, director of business and community development for Sage Community Resources, which manages the Idaho RLF, hopes to hear about its application as early as June. About 25 percent of the supplemental RLF grants have been put aside for petroleum projects, Engel says. When you divide the remaining $30 million nationwide, it’s going to be competitive for RLF managers like Reuse Idaho Brownfields Coalition that are looking for supplemental hazardous materials cleanup monies.

And grants will be tied closely to job creation, she adds. In the West, many brownfields projects contain an element of green space. The question will be how many jobs can be created from these projects, and how the western regions can compete with high urban regions in the east.

“It’s a challenge always to compete with the more urban regions,” Homolac agrees.

Grant announcements will be posted on www.recovery.gov. Watch this newsletter for future updates.