Brownfield Program Holds a Public Meeting For Removal of Old Underground Fuel Tanks

From The City of the Dalles:

By Dan Spatz, economic development officer

The Dalles, Aug 24, 2023- It’s a challenge often faced by business owners looking to buy, expand, or repurpose old properties: Buried and forgotten fuel tanks, asbestos, other regulated building materials, and other potentially hazardous substances prompt unanswered questions about environmental liability.

That’s where the “Brownfield Program” may be able to help. Administered jointly by the City of The Dalles, Wasco County, Port of The Dalles, and Mid-Columbia Economic Development District, this program helps defray the cost of assessing property conditions. For example, the program will pay outright to locate and remove old underground fuel tanks and conduct limited soil sampling. Loans are available to private parties for site clean-up. The program is made possible through funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Business Oregon.

If you’d like to learn more, local public partners are sponsoring an informational meeting at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 12, in City Council chambers of The Dalles City Hall, 313 Court Street. A walking tour will follow at 5 p.m. of several downtown properties that have already taken advantage of the program. Business owners will be on hand to describe their progress and future plans.

The Brownfield Program is one of several incentives offered in cooperation with the City of The Dalles and Columbia Gateway Urban Renewal District to foster downtown economic development. Also available to qualifying properties are Urban Renewal incentives for upper-story residential development, a program to defray the cost of System Development Charges for businesses in the downtown commercial district, downtown residential tax credits, and a financial incentive for mixed-use developments.

For information, contact Dan Spatz, economic development officer for the City of The Dalles, at dspatz@ci.the-dalles.or.us.