ARRA Funds Provide Needed Assessment Dollars for Rural Community
In April of this year, John Carnahan, Brownfields Coordinator for the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) was contacted by a representative of the Organized Village of Kwethluk (OVK), a federally-recognized tribe in the city of Kwethluk, Alaska. The representative was seeking an environmental assessment for the Joseph Guy Community Center, destroyed by fire in 2006. The city considered the Center the heart of not only their community but of the surrounding area of 1,322 residents in nearby communities with whom they shared the center.
Not only did the fire deprive the city of its only community gathering place, but the remnants of the building present a health and safety risk. Located in the heart of town, across the street from a school and adjacent to the post office and Head Start building, the structure contains the usual physical hazards of a partially destroyed building: an unstable structure, metal hazards and burned debris. The fire at the building also has the potential to have contaminated the soil and groundwater, as burned electrical equipment and insulation or the heating system may have released potentially hazardous substances.
Carnahan advised the Village representative that the only way to get the assessment done this year was through the EPA’s Targeted Brownfields Assessment (TBA) Program. Alaska has a state counterpart to the TBA program, the DEC Brownfield Assessments (DBA) but the deadline for application had passed.
The Village worked with the DEC to refine their request and applied for the TBA in July. The timing was opportune as the ARRA had injected $33 million into the TBA program in May, the funds having been distributed among all EPA regions. Joanne LaBaw, TBA Program Coordinator with Region 10 had been looking for sites to assess and was actively encouraging applications to expend ARRA funds and stimulate local economies. Consequently, the Village’s TBA request was approved in August.
The TBA will be the first step in a process of replacing the damaged community center with a multi-use facility that will house office space for the OVK, social service offices and serve as a gathering place for community activities.
The TBA is to be structured to provide community leaders with the information needed to position them for applying for cleanup funds, if the assessment reveals the need for a cleanup. The TBA for the site will include the development of an Environmental Management Plan (EMP), a more extensive deliverable that includes a thorough analysis of environmental conditions along with cleanup alternatives and cost estimates. The EMP also summarizes the proposed reuse for the site and provides information to aid in revitalization, such as a list of possible funding sources and area redevelopment resources.
For more information about this project, contact:
Joanne LaBaw
USEPA Region 10
labaw.joanne@epa.gov
206-553-2594
Sonja Benson
DEC Reuse & Redevelopment Program
Sonja.Benson@alaska.gov
907-451-2156
