Over 6,700 participants converged at the 2006 National Brownfields Conference held Nov. 12-15 in Boston Mass. to learn about Brownfields reuse. Premier educational sessions, conference tracks, plenary sessions, forums, and workshops topics ranged from complex legal advice, discussions on environmental justice, to technical information on assessments and cleanups.

This month hundreds to thousands of communities across the country will be vying for federal funds to investigate and cleanup “Brownfields” properties where expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence of a contaminant, pollutant or hazardous substance.

If successful, the grants would pay to evaluate several sites in the City of Bremerton, clean up one location in Port Orchard to prepare for senior housing on Mitchell Avenue, and perform clean up of the Eddon Boatyard site consisting of two parcels and associated tidelands located at Harborview Drive in Gig Harbor. Comments on all of these proposals are invited until 3 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 5.

Earlier this year, six Washington projects received a total of $1.16 million in the past round of federal aid made available by the EPA’s national “Brownfields” redevelopment initiative. Three of these — 50 percent — were awarded to the City of Bremerton, Gig Harbor, and Kitsap County Consolidated Housing Authority for the Port Orchard site.

On Oct. 27, EPA project officers Susan Morales and Deborah Burgess met with City of Gig Harbor officials and Barrantes for the Eddon Boatyard project’s kickoff to clean up the 3805 Harborview Drive parcel. The City is currently working through a cooperative agreement for a $200,000 award received from the EPA this year. If the current grant application is successful, up to $200,000 in additional grant funds would be used to clean up any contaminated soils and sediments on the adjacent parcel located at 3711.

“This federal Brownfields grant funding will allow the continued cleanup and redevelopment and be a nice investment in beautiful Gig Harbor that is seeing tremendous infrastructure opportunities across the community while helping expand the tax base and developable land,” said U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.)

The Eddon Boatyard proposed site re-development into a city park would honor the town’s boat building heritage while contributing to economic development opportunities for the retail shops and restaurants in the area and this journal has followed its progress. This reuse leads to sustainable growth while preserving “green spaces,” and could help fill a void for public water access in Gig Harbor. Under private ownership, these properties were proposed for a housing development by the Harbor Cove Group.

Mayor Chuck Hunter, who was party to the citizens group advocating for the City’s acquisition of the properties prior to his election, is pleased with the recent developments and opportunities to leverage funding with state and federal assistance.

“This is a tremendous piece of property in an extremely strategic location downtown. There is enormous educational value in putting a property back to productive use after being dormant for nearly a decade.” Hunter said. “The potential for more active public use and tourism on the waterfront will help downtown businesses.”

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has also expressed interest in partnering with the City and will contribute funds towards the disposal of creosote treated pilings and wood located at Eddon Boat Park.

“It is important to maximize the opportunities to improve water quality, recover shoreline, recycle abandoned/idle industrial land, remediate contaminated sites, restore habitat, enhance public awareness, and leverage funding sources by coordinating with multiple projects.” Monica Durkin, Natural Resources Specialist for the DNR said in a letter provided to the City on Oct. 30.

In July 2006, as part of Governor Gregoire’s Puget Sound Initiative — a long-term public and private partnership to clean up and protect the Sound — DNR was granted $2 million from the state’s toxics control account to expand its current program to remove creosote treated pilings and debris throughout the entire Puget Sound.

The City of Bremerton could secure up to $400,000 for examining soils and groundwater for potential petroleum and hazardous waste contamination at sites located throughout the City. Bremerton has historically been a working waterfront community, and similar to other cities around the country, has the potential for hazardous substance and petroleum contamination.

The KCCHA would use up to $165,000 for cleaning up hazardous substance contamination and co-mingled petroleum on 920 Mitchell Avenue in Port Orchard. KCCHA received a $54,205 EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant in 2004 for an environmental assessment of the site completed this year.

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. The City of Gig Harbor presented their draft application during a city council meeting on November 27.

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 until Tuesday December 5.

Comments on the Bremerton applications will be accepted via e-mail (dan.miller@ci.bremerton.wa.us), or by mail to: Dan Miller, City of Bremerton Public Works & Utilities Department, 3027 Olympus Drive, Bremerton, WA, 98310. The draft proposals will be available for viewing at the Public Works building until Dec. 5 during regular business hours. Call Miller at (360) 473-2314 to schedule an appointment or for more information. A meeting to discuss the application will be announced on the city’s website at: www.ci.bremerton.wa.us and held at the 100 Oyster Bay Avenue facility in Bremerton.

In Gig Harbor, the draft application will be available at the Community Development Department. Contact Maureen Whitaker, Assistant City Clerk, 3510 Grandview Street, Tel.: (253) 851-6170, or email whitakerm@cityofgigharbor.net to review the application during regular business hours or direct any other inquiries concerning this project to Lewis (Bud) Whitaker, Tel: (253) 381-8013, email whitakerL@cityofgigharbor.net or Stephen T. Misiurak, City Engineer, Tel: (253) 851-6170, email: misiuraks@cityofgigharbor.net. A public meeting to discuss comments received will be announced through the City’s Web site (www.cityofgigharbor.net/html/notices.html) and held at the Gig Harbor Civic Center.

The draft proposal for the Port Orchard site will be available for viewing 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, 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 on the City of Port Orchard website at: www.cityofportorchard.us. Comments 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.

Once the public comment period ends Dec. 5, the agencies will review all comments received and incorporate suggested changes into the grant proposals 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 grant awardees in April 2007.