Consultant: EPA environmental-assessment grant winding down; few funds remain for new site work

Terry Lee, a consultant with BCA, gave the Common Council an update on an EPA environmental assessment grant the city has used for several years.

Lee said the grant, which required no local match, has funded environmental site assessments (phase I and II) for roughly a dozen sites in recent years, including a former dry cleaner and a lumber yard near Depot Street. “We’ve done about 12, about 13 phase II reports over the past half dozen years,” Lee said. He told the council the current grant will wind down in September and likely has funding left for “maybe another phase I or maybe two phase Is.”

Elena, a city staff member who has worked closely on the project, confirmed the grant has helped identify contamination risks so property owners and potential developers can address remediation before redevelopment. Council members and Lee said the city can apply for another three‑year EPA grant in the future but emphasized grantors generally like to see sites where assessment funds have been spent and redevelopment activity has followed.

Lee described the grants as multi‑year awards of roughly “$300,000–$350,000 each” historically, and said the program has been useful because it covers assessment costs and requires property‑owner permission before consultants access private property.

Next steps: Lee said BCA can work with city staff to close out the current grant by August and, if the council wishes, pursue a new grant application once the city can show redevelopment activity on assessed sites.