Brownfields are properties where expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a contaminant, pollutant or hazardous substance. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfields program was created to help communities redevelop, reuse or expand land that - because of contamination, pollutant, or hazardous substance - might otherwise be unusable. This aids in economic recovery and leads to sustainable growth while preserving “green spaces” in communities such as Bremerton and Port Orchard.
If successful, the grants would pay to evaluate three sites near the Port Washington narrows in Bremerton, clean up and prepare several sites at one location near downtown Bremerton, and perform clean up of properties in Port Orchard.
The locations under consideration include:
- Three properties located at 1725 Pennsylvania Avenue in Bremerton were used for various industrial purposes including; a coal gasification plant, concrete manufacturing, vehicle repair, painting, and a salvage yard. The City of Bremerton would use the grants to perform environmental analyses on properties where redevelopment projects are being planned and where some public access is proposed.
- Plat 51, located between 7th and 8th Streets, and Warren and Park Avenues in Bremerton, consists of 17 lots ranging in size from .07 to .31 acres currently occupied by family residences, parking garage, Southcourt apartments, and an office building. The Bremerton Housing Authority (BHA) plans to rehabilitate these sites once underground storage tanks and any hazardous substances found have been removed.
- Property located at 920 Mitchell Avenue in Port Orchard where a garage used by the Port Orchard Fire Department was located. Kitsap County Consolidated Housing Authority (KCCHA) would clean up the sites where it plans to build an additional 42-unit retirement complex.
Plans will be presented to the City Councils of Bremerton and Port Orchard at upcoming regular public council meetings and via subsequent televised broadcasts of meetings on BKAT.
As part of the application process, the EPA Brownfields grant applications will be available for public review through respective agency contacts and comments from the public are invited.
Once the public comment period ends on Dec. 12, the agencies will review all comments received and incorporate suggested changes into the grant proposal as appropriate or provide response to affected parties. If there are no significant changes, the EPA Brownfields Grant Proposals are considered final and the applications will be submitted. EPA is expected to announce the grants in April 2006.
City of Bremerton
The City is seeking public comments on pending applications that could secure up to $400,000 for examining soils and groundwater for potential petroleum and hazardous waste contamination at sites located on three properties at Pennsylvania Avenue and the Port Washington Narrows.
Bremerton has historically been a working waterfront community, and similar to other cities around the country, has the potential for hazardous waste and petroleum contamination.
"These properties provide an exciting opportunity to develop a new public access, marina expansion, and boat maintenance facility as well as to facilitate significant private investment in marine industrial development. This would be a great asset to Bremerton and Kitsap County," said Public Works Director Phil Williams.
The grants would pay to perform Phase 2 evaluations of the properties looking for potential contamination and known or suspected hazardous waste. Site assessment activities would be subcontracted for environmental investigation and activities coordinated with the Washington State Department of Ecology's Voluntary Clean-up Program (VCP). Anticipated costs range from $100,000 to $200,000 per property, depending on specific site conditions.
Comments on the Brownfields applications will be accepted through Monday, Dec. 12, via e-mail (tknuckey@ci.bremerton.wa.us), or by mail to: Thomas Knuckey, City of Bremerton Public Works Managing Engineer, 3027 Olympus Drive, Bremerton, WA, 98310. The draft proposal will be available for viewing at the Public Works building until Dec. 12, during regular business hours. Please call (360) 473-2376 to schedule an appointment or for more information. A meeting to discuss the application will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 5:30 p.m. at the Oyster Bay Facility on 100 Oyster Bay Avenue North in Bremerton.
Bremerton Housing Authority
The BHA plans to clean up environmental contamination and redevelop this low-income neighborhood, provide affordable housing using quality construction, and improve accessibility of essential community services. This City of Bremerton census tract has area poverty levels of 56.3%, the highest in all of Kitsap County, and minorities twice the county's average.
Up to $200,000 in grant funds would be used to remove sources of surface/subsurface contamination and underground storage tanks (USTs), dispose of any contaminated soils, and support community involvement activities. Earlier this year, the KCCHA acquired a $200,000 cleanup grant for the 0.31-acre site located on 7th at Park that operated as a former Drycleaners between1923-1972. That site remediation and Brownfields grant cleanup activities have been subcontracted to the BHA as a part of the larger development project.
A draft application will be available and comments are invited until 3 pm, Monday, December 12, 2005 at the BHA offices located at 345 6th Street Suite 200 in Bremerton during regular business hours. Please direct inquiries to Bobbi Miller, Multifamily Asset Manager, (360) 616-2238 or by email bmiller@contractmgmt.org. A meeting to discuss the application will be held on Monday, December 5 from 4-5 pm at the Westpark Community Center on Russell Road in Bremerton.
Kitsap County Consolidated Housing Authority
The KCCHA would use up to $165,000 in grant funds, if awarded, for cleaning up hazardous substance contamination and co-mingled petroleum on land located at 920 Mitchell Avenue in Port Orchard. KCCHA received a $54,205 EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant in 2004 to complete an environmental assessment of the site.
The City of Port Orchard cleaned up an adjacent site purchased by the KCCHA in 2003 to construct its current 42-unit affordable retirement complex there in response to a shortage of housing for seniors within the city.
These properties had historical potential for petroleum and other contamination, so before buying the land, the agency performed environmental analyses. Previous storage and heating of oil and tar in the area surrounding the garage, seepage of tar-like material from the soil up through the asphalt pavement, and sediment in the soil resulting from on-site cleaning of street-sweeping equipment resulted in the presence of petroleum, PCBs and metals in the soils.
Site clean-up activities would include removal of soil contaminated from petroleum and oil origin. The KCCHA, in conjunction with EPA's Office of Brownfields Cleanup and Development, will administer the grant.
The draft proposal will be available for viewing by the public at the KCCHA offices in the Norm Dicks Government Building at 345 6th Street in Bremerton during regular business hours. To schedule an appointment or for more information concerning the Mitchell Senior Housing project in Port Orchard, please call Julie Graves, KCCHA Development Director, at (360) 535-6138. The plans will also be discussed at a KCCHA Special Projects Meeting to be announced this month. Comments from the general public are invited, and will be accepted via e-mail (gravesj@kccha.org), and/or by mail to: Julie Graves, KCCHA Development Director, at 9307 Bayshore Dr NW, Silverdale, WA, 98383. |
