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EPA announces $399,978 in Brownfields support for Idaho tribal communities

Release Date: 05/28/2014
Contact Information: Mark MacIntyre, EPA/Seattle 206-553-7302, [email protected]

(Seattle, WA – May 28, 2014) Two re-development projects on tribal lands in Idaho will receive a total of $399,978 in Brownfields funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Quickly approaching its 20^th anniversary, EPA’s Brownfields Program encourages cleanup and redevelopment of America’s estimated 450,000 Brownfields sites.

“Brownfields grants are catalysts for communities,” said Dennis McLerran, EPA Regional Administrator in Seattle, Washington. “They jumpstart local projects, bringing valuable real estate back into productive use. Through Brownfields, we’re joining with public, private and tribal partners to revitalize blighted property, create more green jobs and protect public health.”

The Idaho applicants selected to receive 2014 Brownfields general program funds are:

Coeur d'Alene Tribal Housing Authority, ID - $200,000 Cleanup of Six residential properties

Project Contact: Mr. Tim Negri ([email protected]), 208-686-1927

Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to clean up six residential properties on the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Reservation. Contamination resulted from the production or use of methamphetamine within the six units.

Nez Perce Tribe, ID - $199,978 Assessment Site-Specific of Tribal Unit-45

Project Contact: Ms. Judy Goodson ([email protected]), 208-843-7368

Site-specific hazardous substances grant funds will be used to conduct a Phase II environmental site assessment, which will include soil vapor sample screening and groundwater monitoring well sampling, at Tribal Unit-45, a 38.9-acre site on the northern boundary of the Nez Perce Reservation in Orofino. The area was previously used as a saw mill operation, creosote wood treatment facility, and asphalt batch plant. Grant funds also will be used to conduct community outreach activities.

These grants will help both Tribal governments clean and redevelop abandoned, contaminated properties known as Brownfields. Brownfields are sites where expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.

In 2002, the definition of a Brownfield was expanded to include mine-scarred lands or sites contaminated by petroleum or the manufacture of illegal drugs. Grant recipients are selected through a national competition.

More Information on the national Brownfields Program is available here: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/

More information on EPA Region 10’s Brownfields program is available here: https://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/CLEANUP.NSF/sites/bf