News Releases from Region 10
City of Ontario and Partners Selected for $600,000 in Brownfields Assessment Grants
Program helps return blighted properties to productive reuse
EPA has selected the City of Ontario, Oregon, Malheur County and partner cities Nyssa and Vale for two brownfields environmental site assessment grants totaling $600,000. With this funding, Ontario and its partners will assess up to 36 brownfields sites as an initial step towards cleaning up and redeveloping vacant and underutilized properties, transforming them into an asset for both the community and the local economy while protecting public health and the environment.
“EPA is committed to working with communities to redevelop Brownfields sites which have plagued their neighborhoods. EPA’s Assessment and Cleanup grants target communities that are economically disadvantaged and include places where environmental cleanup and new jobs are most needed," said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. "These grants leverage considerable infrastructure and other investments, improving local economies and creating an environment where jobs can grow. I am very pleased the President’s budget recognizes the importance of these grants by providing continued funding for this important program.”.”
The City of Ontario, along with coalition partners Malheur County and the cities of Nyssa and Vale, will receive $300,000 to assess sites contaminated with hazardous substances, and $300,000 to assess sites contaminated with petroleum. Grant funds of both types also will be used to create a brownfields inventory, prioritize sites, conduct area-wide planning, and support community outreach activities.
The City of Ontario, Oregon has formed a coalition with Malheur County and the Cities of Nyssa and Vale to promote community revitalization through brownfields redevelopment. Ontario, Nyssa, and Vale, the county's three largest cities, have a combined population of 16,181. These Treasure Valley communities are small, rural, and isolated from urban areas of Oregon and neighboring Idaho. The target areas for the proposed grant-funded project are the downtown commercial districts and primary commercial corridors in Ontario, Nyssa, and Vale.
"This EPA brownfield grant funding brings attention and much needed seed funding to enhance the quality of life in Malheur County, and will bring new opportunities to our small rural communities, said Dan Cummings, Project Director. “We look forward to working on environmental issues on local brownfields to change them from burdens and eyesores to new businesses and community amenities."
The City of Ontario has begun to inventory and prioritize brownfields and reach out to the community about the benefits of brownfield redevelopment. They are also partnering with brownfield staff at Business Oregon, the state's economic development agency to complete a brownfield inventory, held two public outreach meetings, and gathered community insights and priorities for brownfield redevelopment through an electronic survey, provided in both English and Spanish to ensure we capture input from their large Hispanic communities.
"The City of Ontario is thrilled at the opportunity to identify brownfields and clear space for future development, said Adam Brown, Ontario City Manager. “The inventory and studies conducted through the Brownfield grant will reduce barriers to development in our city and make sure that we eliminate contaminates that might risk future development or health."
Brownfields assessment and cleanup grants target communities with significant distress. These communities are economically disadvantaged -- neighborhoods where environmental assessment, cleanup and new jobs are most needed for residents that have historically been left behind.
Ontario is one of 172 communities selected nationally for new brownfields assessment and cleanup funding in 2017. Across the country, $56.8 million in funding will be granted.
For more information about Brownfields Cleanup and Assessment Grants: www.epa.gov/brownfields
To view fact sheets about the 2017 grant recipients: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-list-fy17-grants-selected-funding
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