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Longmont to vie for sugar mill clean up dollars

Longmont was selected as a recipient of funding to clean up efforts for the sugar mill redevelopment area.
USED 3.20.21 good morning ducks in St. Vrain river
Ducks bobbing for food in the St. Vrain Creek

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, announced on Thursday that the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, or CDPHE, will receive a $2 million grant from the national organization to conduct Brownfields assessments intended “to advance the cleanup and revitalization of sites in the cities of Longmont, Lyons, Cortez, Firestone and Evans,” a news release from EPA states. 

The Brownfields assessments “will examine current and historical uses of properties and sample soil, water, air and building materials to evaluate potential contamination, determine cleanup options and initiate reuse planning,” the news release said. 

Additionally, grant funds will be used to support community outreach activities and ensure the involvement of these communities with environmental justice concerns, according to the news release. 

In October, the area surrounding the northern corridor of the St. Vrain Creek in Longmont will undergo an environmental assessment funded by a federal grant. The evaluation of the area will help the city determine what kinds of cleanup efforts will need to occur in order for it to be eligible for redevelopment, according to Longmont’s Redevelopment and Urban Renewal Manager Tony Chacon.

Although CDPHE announced its plans to allocate a portion of the environmental efforts grant to Longmont, exactly how much money the city will receive depends on a negotiation process that will begin between Longmont’s City Manager’s Office and CDPHE, Chacon said. 

Before negotiations, Chacon and his team will evaluate how much money they think is needed in order to do conduct Brownfields assessments and plan the revitalization for certain areas in Longmont — namely, for the area from the sugar factory property on the east out to Hover Street along the northern corridor of the St. Vrain Creek, Chacon said. 

The environment around that particular area has been designated by the EPA as potentially contaminated, which makes it eligible for funding by CDPHE’s grant, according to Chacon. 

Such potential contamination “can range from underground storage tanks to soil contamination to water contamination, which could all result from various activities taking place there over the years,” Chacon said. 

Additionally, the city intends to make some funds available for local property owners to assess the environmental condition of their properties … “Which will then allow the city to pursue redevelopment activities, once we know what those conditions might be and what cleanup efforts might need to occur,” Chacon explained. 

“It’s necessary to put properties in Longmont into a position for redevelopment — particularly blighted areas,” Chacon said. “No development can occur without environmental assessment being done in general because the lenders on any development always require environmental assessments being conducted.”

“This (money) is beneficial for property owners in Longmont, who may not have the financial resources to conduct those assessments,” Chacon added. “These are the means of assisting them without impacting the city’s budget to do these types of environmental assessments.”