The EPA recently announced two Brownfields grants that will be used to begin redevelopment plans in Salt Lake County, Salt Lake City, Murray, and Spanish Fork. The grants were targeted to support underserved and economically disadvantaged communities in assessing and cleaning up contaminated and abandoned industrial and commercial properties. Spanish Fork is to receive $300,000 and Salt Lake County to receive $600,000.
Spanish Fork
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing Spanish Fork City, Utah, will receive a $300,000 Brownfields assessment grant to complete environmental assessments and advance the redevelopment of several targeted Brownfields properties in the city’s I-15 and Main Street corridors.
Spanish Fork City is among 151 communities nationwide selected to receive 154 grant awards totaling $66.5 million in EPA Brownfields funding through the agency’s Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup Grant programs. This funding will support underserved and economically disadvantaged communities across the country in assessing and cleaning up contaminated and abandoned industrial and commercial properties. Approximately 50 percent of selected recipients will be receiving EPA Brownfields Grant funding for the first time and more than 85 percent are located in or serving small communities.
“Spanish Fork has developed a comprehensive vision connecting targeted environmental assessment and cleanup with plans for transit-oriented redevelopment and economic growth,” said Mark A. Smith, EPA Region 8 director of Land, Chemicals and Redevelopment Division. “This grant will help the City assess several priority properties and make them available for safe reuse.”
Spanish Fork City will use the EPA grant funds to evaluate environmental contamination and cleanup needs at several sites to facilitate their safe reuse and redevelopment. Assessment activities will focus on the City’s I-15 Corridor and Main Street Corridor target areas. Priority sites include the Industrial Park and the Expressway Landfill in the I-15 corridor, which were previously used for manufacturing, salvaging, storage, retail and foundry activities; and the former Salvage Yard site within the Main Street Corridor. Additional Brownfield sites within these areas include landfills, auto facilities, former gas stations, factories, foundries, lumber yards, junk and scrap yards, auto body repair shops, and underutilized vacant lots.
These projects will help advance the City’s proposed Intermodal Center, a transit-oriented development and catalyst site that will drive further economic development. The proposed center comprises over 17 acres with factory buildings from a former sugar beet factory that remain on site. Contaminants likely include asbestos fly ash and other processing waste, as well as semi-volatile organic compounds and hazardous metals, such as arsenic and lead.
The City will use the EPA funds to assess the Expressway Landfill, another priority site containing multiple former unregulated landfills, with potential redevelopment as a solar farm and new businesses. Targeted properties in the Industrial Park contain former foundries associated with hazardous metals, volatile organic compounds, PCBs and semi-volatile compounds. Assessment, cleanup and reuse of this area will lead to retail and commercial development. In addition, Spanish Fork is proposing to use the assessment and cleanup of the former Salvage Yard along the Main Street Corridor for expansion of the fairgrounds. This site contains elevated levels of arsenic, lead, cadmium, chromium, PCBs and semi-volatile compounds, including Benzo(a)Pyrene.
“I am very pleased to announce that a $300,000 EPA Brownfields grant has been awarded to Spanish Fork City. These funds will be used to conduct environmental assessments at several properties throughout the city,” said Mayor Steve Leifson. “The assessments will give the city and developers vital information as we work to repurpose abandoned and underutilized sites. I want to thank the EPA for their grant funding which will help make Spanish Fork an even better place to live and work in.”
Salt Lake County
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing that Salt Lake County, Utah will receive a $600,000 Brownfields assessment grant to complete environmental assessments with coalition partners in Salt Lake City and Murray City to advance the redevelopment of several targeted Brownfields properties.
Salt Lake County is among 151 communities nationwide selected to receive 154 grant awards totaling $66.5 million in EPA Brownfields funding through the agency’s Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup Grant programs This funding will support underserved and economically disadvantaged communities across the country in assessing and cleaning up contaminated and abandoned industrial and commercial properties. Approximately 50 percent of selected recipients will be receiving EPA Brownfields Grant funding for the first time and more than 85 percent are located in or serving small communities.
“Salt Lake County and its coalition partners have built a track record of success in using EPA Brownfields grants to create new economic opportunities in communities,” said Mark A. Smith, EPA Region 8 director of the Land, Chemicals, and Redevelopment Division. “This grant will help advance the redevelopment of several targeted properties and make them available for productive reuse.”
Salt Lake County will use the EPA Brownfields assessment grant with coalition partners Salt Lake City and Murray City to conduct environmental site assessments at dozens of properties, including locations at Camp Kearns, the Seven Peaks Waterpark site, the Murray City Central Business District and the Magna Main Street target areas. Priority sites include parcels at a former Army base that were formerly occupied by warehouses, mechanic shops, and light industry; a commercial water park that has been vacant since 2018 and several sites within a historic residential and commercial district.
“Salt Lake County and our Coalition partners, Murray City and Salt Lake City, are thrilled to receive another community-wide assessment grant,” said Salt Lake County Economic Development Director Jevon Gibb. “Under previous grants, we have been able assess key properties that have facilitated redevelopment and public health improvements throughout the county. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the EPA on this great program.”
“Under our current grant,” Gibb continued, “we were also able to prepare properties to utilize Salt Lake County’s EPA-funded Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund. In short, after helping identify the environmental issues, we partnered with the EPA and developers to make loans that solve the issues. This teamwork creates huge impact for our region, and we are grateful to the EPA and our coalition partners.”
