EPA Awards $1 million in Brownsfields Grants to The Dalles Community
By Cole Goodwin
The Dalles, Ore., May 22, 2024 – The Dalles is set to receive $1 million in grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to clean up the former Chenowith Middle School and The City’s Westside and Downtown Historic Area.
State Funding Breakdown
EPA selected six communities in Oregon to receive a total of $9.8 million in EPA Brownfields funding through the Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup Grant programs which are funded by President Biden's Investing in America agenda, which is focused on environemental restoration and the cleanup and reassessment of contaminated sites in Oregon, known as Brownfields.
City of The Dalles
North Wasco County School District #21 is slated to receive $500,000 to do cleanup at the 13 acre former Chenowith Middle School site which operated as a Middle School from 1955 to 2009. It has since been actively utilized for various educational purposes including high school athletics and public safety training, despite no longer serving as a middle school.
The cleanup will “help prepare the building for a new role as the Columbia Gorge Early Learning Center. We’re still a long way from making this happen (it’s probably an $18 million project), but this grant is an important step,” said Dan Spatz, Economic Development Officer with The City of The Dalles.,
Purple marker indicates the location of the old Chenoweth Middle School.
The City of The Dalles itself will also receive $500,000 to conduct environmental site assessments and cleanup evaluations, particularly in the city's Westside and Downtown Historic Area.
“The city grant is separate and also very welcome: It renews our ability to locate and mitigate old fuel tanks and other environmental hazards in the city,” said Spatz.
Spatz also noted that the City had been selected as recipients but would still have to undergo a considerable process to receive the grants.
Port of Arlington
Port of Arlington Environmental Sentry Corp has been selected to receive $780,000. Grant funds will be used to clean up the Former Condon Grade School. The 3.2-acre cleanup site was used as a school for just over one hundred years and has been vacant since it closed at the end of the 2021-2022 school year. Grant funds also will be used to develop a Public Participation Plan and conduct community engagement activities.
City of Sherwood
The City of Sherwood was selected to receive $5,000,000. Grant funds will be used to clean up the Former Frontier Leather Tannery. The site has been vacant since the tannery closed in 1972. Grant funds also will be used to develop a Public Participation Plan and to conduct community engagement activities.
City of The Eugene
The City of Eugene has been selected to receive $1,526,847. Grant funds will be used to clean up Trainsong Park. In January 2022, the park was closed and fenced off because environmental sampling found elevated levels of dioxin concentrations in park soils from an unknown source. Grant funds also will be used to develop a Public Involvement Plan and conduct community engagement activities.
Oregon Metro
Oregon Metro, as the lead member of the assessment coalition involving Washington and Clackamas Counties and Unite Oregon, has been selected to receive $1,500,000. Grant funds will be used to conduct environmental site assessments, develop cleanup plans, and support community engagement activities throughout the state.
To see the list of the FY 2024 Multipurpose, Assessment and Cleanup applicants selected for funding visit EPA’s FY 2024 Multipurpose, Assessment and Cleanup Applicants webpage.
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