Lodi gets grant to clean up properties
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday that Lodi was one of nine California cities awarded a Brownfields Assessment grant to be used for the assessment, redevelopment and cleanup for contaminated sites in the city’s Downtown, historical industrial areas and residential areas bordering the main rail line.
Those sites include the former General Mills production facility, the future Lake House Hotel site across the street from the plant, vacant buildings on Sacramento Street near the World of Wonders Science Museum, and the Sunset Theatre on Lodi Avenue.
Brownfields sites are potentially contaminated with pollutants or other hazardous materials, according to the EPA.
“This is the second round of Brownsfield grants we’ve received,” Lodi City Manager Steve Schwabauer said. “So far, the money has been used to do studies on properties that might not otherwise be safe for immediate development. The idea is, the city looks to see if environmental work needs to be done on a site before someone purchases it, or even wants to move forward with a project there.”
Schwabauer said much of the work undertaken on the sites benefiting from this second round has already been completed, and the grant serves as a form of reimbursement for funds spent on environmental work.
He said the city is currently looking for other projects that might need evaluation prior to future development.
“We’re really excited to have been able to help accommodate development, and we appreciate the partnership with the EPA,” he said. “We’re excited about this work we’ve done and we’re excited about the projects to come.”
Lodi was awarded a $400,000 Brownsfield grant in 2015, and according to News-Sentinel archives, those funds were used to increase the city’s housing stock by assessing and evaluating potential sites for new residential development.
The nine cities awarded grants this year will receive a total of nearly $4 million to assess and clean up contaminated properties.
More than 151 communities nationwide have been selected to receive grants totaling more than $65.6 million in
Brownfields funding, according to the EPA.
Funds will help under-served and economically disadvantaged communities assess and clean up contaminated properties and return them to productive reuse, the agency said.
“Brownfields grants provide communities across California with an opportunity to transform contaminated sites into public assets,” EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator John Busterud said. “This can attract jobs and promote economic revitalization, while taking advantage of existing infrastructure and protecting communities and the environment.”