BernCo receives Brownfields grant
Funds can be used to start cleaning up contaminated property in the South Valley
Bernalillo County officials hope a recent grant award will lure new industry and businesses to the South Valley’s major commercial corridors.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced earlier this month it had selected the county to receive a $600,000 Brownfields assessment grant it can use to start the process of cleaning up contaminated commercial property in the South Valley.
County Commissioner Steven Michael Quezada, whose district includes the South Valley, said many businesses were established long before society understood the environmental hazards they presented or before regulations existed to protect the environment.
“Back when they started, businesses did not realize they were doing bad things,” he said. “I get calls from people wanting to put clean industries in the South Valley but sometimes it’s hard to attract them (because of the contamination).”
According to the EPA, the goal of the Brownfields Program is to give communities a chance to transform contaminated properties, making them attractive for economic development that would increase local tax revenue and increase nearby property values. The grant will help cover the costs associated with mitigating environmental pollutants, contaminants and hazards left behind by business operations along Bridge, Rio Bravo and Broadway boulevards.
Mayling Armijo, director of economic development for Bernalillo County, said they will use the grant to gather groundwater, soil and other samples to analyze and determine what type of cleanup is necessary.
“The cost of doing these (assessments) can get expensive,” Armijo said. “This grant will help us take on the cost of the assessments and make the land ready to develop.”
Some that the county has identified are properties once home to the former Motor Lodge, DunnEdwards Paints, Tito’s Garage, and the area near Prince and Rio Bravo.
The targeted properties belong to private owners and the county would have to enter into formal agreements. Armijo said property owners were receptive to the idea when contacted by the county. Once the county finishes its assessments, it will request another Brownfields grant to clean up the properties.
This is the second year the county has applied for the grant, Armijo said, but they did not win an award on their first attempt because the proposal did not include specific properties.
The South Valley started as an agricultural community that developed long before the area had extensive planning and zoning regulations. It’s now a mixture of housing subdivisions, homesteads, open space properties, agriculture, and commercial ventures.
South Valley residents have long fought to keep out and regulate industries they say put their health at risk and negatively affects their quality of life. Pollution from industrial use, dating back to the 1950s, was so prevalent on one square-mile in the South Valley that the EPA declared it a Superfund site requiring federal attention. A portion of the site has since been cleaned up and was removed from the National Priorities List of contaminated sites in 2019.
The county is working with the Partnership for Community Action and the Rio Grande Community Development Corporation as part of its outreach to South Valley residents. The offices of each are closed due to the pandemic and they did not respond to email requests for an interview.
The Brownfields Program started in 1995 and according to the EPA website a brownfield property is one in “which the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.”
Quezada said he believes the South Valley is the future of economic growth in New Mexico.
“This is a chance to correct some environmental mistakes that were made while the South Valley of Bernalillo County was growing into the vibrant productive area it is today,” Quezada said. “This grant presents a new opportunity to improve the health and safety of this area and for the residents of Bernalillo County.”