EPA Brownsfield projects--clean up pollution, chemicals, mold

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EPA grant to cleanse SD sites

http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/national/plains/46811142.html

June 3, 2009

SISSETON,

S.D. (AP) – A former orphanage and boarding school tainted with toxins

near Sisseton, S.D. could be transformed into a recreation area with

ballparks and green space, paid for with a grant from the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency.

The

Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribe received $200,000 from the EPA May 8 to

clean up the Tekakwitha Old Orphanage and Boarding School Complex. The

money, called a Brownfields grant, is part of more than $70 million in

EPA money that will help cleanse toxic sites in South Dakota – all

while creating jobs.

“The (Tekakwitha) cleanup will pave

the way for the reuse of a property that has been affected by a long

history of contamination,†said Carol Rushin, acting regional

administrator for the EPA’s Mountains and Plains Region 8 based in

Denver. “This cleanup will generate jobs and help create a community

asset for the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribe.â€

“It is not

a healthy area,†said Steve Sr., Brownfields coordinator with

the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribe’s Office of Environmental Protection.

“We want to help get rid of a hazard to our people and our environment.â€

President

Obama’s budget slashes deep into many federal agencies, yet the EPA

will instead increase funds for state and local governments in 2010.

The money will pay for environmental projects such as Superfund sites,

the Leaking Underground Storage Tank program and the Brownsfields

program.

Another $6 billion will be available nationally

in Recovery Act revolving loans for water quality, wastewater and

drinking water projects.

‘Neat’ project for tribe, state

In

South Dakota, the grants will fund a $50 million cleanup of the Gilt

Edge Mine Superfund Site near Lead, $19.4 million for water-quality

projects, $1.2 million to remove old gas station tanks and the $200,000

to rehabilitate the Tekakwitha Old Orphanage and Boarding School

Complex.

The tribe will study whether it is worth

rehabilitating buildings on the property, but plans call for a green

space with basketball and tennis courts and tables for people to have

picnics. The project could take more than two years to complete and

could lead to a dozen jobs being created.

“I’d like to

see some wind generation out there,†said. “I’d like to see a

pool, a recreation center – but money. The Tribal Council could, down

the road, move for some economic development out there, office space,

since we need to grow.â€

The 12-acre Tekakwitha site,

about a half-mile from Sisseton, has served as a farm, church,

orphanage and boarding school. There are five buildings on the

property. The main building has been abandoned for almost 20 years, and

the tribe took ownership in 2001.

“It’s a physical

hazard that’s just filled with mold. Basically, it’s a building that

needs to be demolished, and these funds will help them dispose of the

hazardous materials,†said Dan Heffernan, Brownfields coordinator for

Region 8. “It’s a neat project for us, since we’re used to dealing with

large urban projects. With this, we get to help a rural community, a

tribe. Usually, it’s stuff like to the Falls project (in Sioux

Falls) – these smaller projects are near and dear to our hearts.â€

Good proposal in tight competition

Brownfields

are sites where expansion, redevelopment or reuse could be complicated

by the presence of pollution, hazardous chemicals or contaminants such

as mold. Recipients are selected through a national competition.

The

tribe applied for its grant in November. Communities in 46 states, four

tribes and two U.S. territories shared in the $111..9 million pot this

grant cycle.

“It’s a highly competitive grant process

and a third of the applicants get funded,†Heffernan said. “The tribe

wrote a really good proposal and we’re really excited they got their

funding.â€