Brownfields Initiative Grant

Funds Available for Brownfield Assessments

The Environmental Protection Agency awarded the City of Arcata a $300,000 grant to perform Brownfield assessments, i.e., testing sites where historical use is known to have caused contamination, or testing sites which are perceived to be contaminated. Assessment is the first step in making plans to remediate the site. The grant can only be used for testing and cleanup plans.  It cannot be used for the actual cleanup of the site.

Brownfields are abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial and commercial facilities or sites where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination. Brownfields can be in urban, suburban, or rural areas.  The EPA's Brownfields Initiative is designed to help communities mitigate potential health risks and restore the economic viability of such areas or properties.

Grant Funds are available from October, 2017 through the end of September, 2020. In response to a noticed, competitive Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process, the City received responses from seven firms for Environmental Engineering Services. Ultimately, the City chose SHN Engineers & Geologists as our partner to perform Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments and Remedial Action Planning under the City’s 2017 Community-wide Brownfields Assessment Grant.

A Brownfields Stakeholder Group was formed by interested parties.  This group, comprised of local business owners, private citizens, realtors, and non-profits, holds public meetings to assist the City in developing criteria to rank sites.  

The State of California's GeoTracker is a great resource to find records for sites that require cleanup.  It provides information about the type of cleanup and current status.  Another targeted resource is the Department of Toxic Substances Control site (ENVIROSTOR) for Arcata.