PORT ANGELES — Clallam County is looking for a few good government entities to team up for a $1 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Dale Holiday, Clallam County planner, led a three-hour informational meeting on the coalition-based Brownfield grant for more than a dozen invited community leaders Thursday at the Clallam Transit building in Port Angeles.
The potential stakeholders represented city governments, tribes and the Port of Port Angeles.
These stakeholders have until Aug. 17 to decide whether they want to join a coalition that will apply for EPA funding.
“We don’t know what the coalition would look like,” Holiday said.
“We’ll see where it might go . . . It could be city, county, tribes — any governmental entity.”
Brownfield grants are released annually by the EPA. They support the environmental assessment and cleanup of “brownfield” sites.
Brownfield sites have, or may have, hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants. The EPA defines brownfields as “real property, the expansion, redevelopment or reuse of which may be complicated” by pollution.
Since the EPA has not released specific criteria for this year’s Brownfield grants, the stakeholders expressed lukewarm support for a coalition.
“We’re trying to figure out what the grant would mean,” said Rod Fleck, Forks city attorney and planner, near the end of the meeting.
“What we would apply for — and how it would be administered — are all questions that are unknown. That’s not been delineated or articulated well to this point.”
Specific information on this year’s Brownfield grants will become available by early August, Holiday said.
The grant applications are due in October.
If the county gets no takers on the $1 million-maximum coalition grant, it will apply for a smaller Brownfield grant, possibly the $200,000 assessment grant.
“We’ll just go for a smaller venue,” Holiday explained. “We don’t have to go for that entire amount.”
This is the first time Clallam County has applied for a Brownfield grant, Holiday said.
EPA money could be spent on environmental assessments, cleanup, job training and technical assistance.
Most of the contaminated sites in the region are already known, so grant funds may be used to study the contamination of a old logging yard, for example, Holiday said.
While Holiday said the response from potential stakeholders was positive, some were skeptical.
“I don’t think the county won favor with my government and my mayor when it was pointed out that the former BP gas station in the early 90s, which is now one of the most successful restaurants in Forks, could be a problem, and the land use is not being utilized for its best purpose,” Fleck said.
“This was spoken by someone who doesn’t live or work in my community. So unfortunately, after the meeting, I can’t say I understood exactly what the objectives were for the county, other than maybe to rewrite land use in the city of Forks.”
Steve Tharinger, one of three Clallam County commissioners, said the county is simply “kicking tires” on the Brownfield grant.
“The name of the game is look for the dough,” Tharinger said.
“At some point, right, you say does this work for you or not? But to say not to pursue those dollars I think is short-sighted.”
Tharinger said the county is in good fiscal shape because it pursues grants aggressively. He noted that the Brownfield grant is an opportunity, not a commitment.
Nathan West, economic and community development director for the city of Port Angeles, said the city is “very supportive of the county’s efforts in the process.”
“We’d like to be supportive of their grant application, but we’ve stressed a number of questions that we’d still like to get answers and additional work on,” West said.
“I think it’s extremely important that we think about what the impact will be on land owners, what the impact will be on the real estate community.
“But also, I think it’s important that we explore whether or not an additional visioning process is something that the community needs to take on at this point.”
The city of Port Angeles is already taking on big-vision projects, like its update to the shoreline master program and harbor management plan.
“We also want to ensure that we’re not in competition with the Harbor-Works Development Authority as far as the grant application and some of the needs that they have,” West added.
“As Rod (Fleck) noted, I think today we really didn’t get down to some of those questions that those participants and supporters might have. I’m hopeful there will be a time that we can do that and have those discussions.”
Holiday concurred after the meeting.
“There’s a lot of vagary, but that’s all we have right now,” she said.
John Calhoun, board president of the Port of Port Angeles, said his county-wide, three-member governing board is interested in exploring a coalition with the county. He said the port wants a quality environment and sustainable resources.
However, Calhoun said the port has “real issues” with the Brownfield grant that have not been answered.
“We don’t want this new effort and the EPA to interfere with the processes that are already under way,” Calhoun said.
“We’re worried about another layer of visioning as well.”
If the county or coalition wins the Brownfield grant, a minimum five sites would be assessed for contamination.
Those sites have not been identified, Holiday said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
