Feature
Brownfields Redevelopment in Alaska
With giant mountain ranges, vast river valleys and thousands of miles of coastline, Alaska is a nature lover's dream. Yet the very qualities that attract tourists can cause big headaches for brownfields. Simply raising awareness about brownfields is harder when everyone is surrounded by stunning natural beauty and what appears to be limitless wilderness. And that same vastness can hamper clean up efforts.
Fortunately, awareness of brownfield redevelopment is growing and the action is slated to continue, says John Carnahan. As the first-ever brownfield coordinator in the state's Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Carnahan "works in concert" with large urban and small rural redevelopment projects.
Big city hopes for Fairbanks
Last year the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded funds to a project headed by the Fairbanks North Star Borough (a borough roughly five times the size of Rhode Island). Named the Chena Riverbend Redevelopment Project, its target area is a former city landfill that has blocked development on what should be prime real estate, right in the middle of Fairbanks and along the banks of the Chena River.
Sixty miles long, the Chena River is heavily used for both transportation and recreation by residents and tourists alike. Recent erosion along the river exposed some of the buried waste along its banks amid where children play and tourist boats travel…including rusty cars. So far, the project has been awarded two assessment grants: a Targeted Brownfield Assessment grant and a Brownfield Site Assessment grant.
The project borders one of the city's most economically depressed neighborhoods. City leaders and activists have high hopes this riverside project will help spur economic improvement. The planned mixed-use development includes commercial space, sports facilities and a fish hatchery.
Revitalizing a neighborhood
Head about 360 miles south to Anchorage and the same type of excitement abounds about a project called the Mountain View Arts & Cultural District Redevelopment. The project is the recipient of a $2 million Brownfields Economic Development Initiative (BEDI) grant as well as assessment funding.
The Mountain View project aims to revitalize one of Anchorage's oldest neighborhoods by adding a large art and culture complex with opera house and studios for artists along with housing and businesses. The neighborhood was originally created in the 1940s to provide housing for people who helped build nearby military bases.
Remote areas bring special challenges
Brownfields aren't only found in Alaska's cities, however. Mining and the oil industry have resulted in brownfields even in the middle of literally nowhere. The very nature of the state's vast terrain can challenge efforts to tackle these problem areas where access and lack of infrastructure cause cleanup costs to skyrocket.
"Cost of cleanup is always an issue in brownfield redevelopment, but especially in our remote areas. And we have no hazardous waste storage or facilities in our state," explains Carnahan. Most of Alaska is remote, so a site that is "off the road" can mean pricey barge or airplane costs to dispose of contaminated soil or materials.
Deering, 450 miles north and west of Fairbanks and just 10 miles short of the Pacific Ocean, is a good example. A DEC assessment recently evaluated the former Utica gold-mine district just south of the community because there is interest in redeveloping the site as a tourism destination. The beauty and vastness of this area on the Seward Peninsula, just outside of the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, is unsurpassed.
But in terms of accommodations, working in Deering is a different story. Forget the laptop and bring a sleeping bag. Searching online for a hotel gets you this message: "The closest hotel is 500 miles away from here." Yikes.
Another remote town, Nome was also awarded an EPA Cleanup Grant as part of their construction of a new power generation facility. An EPA fact sheet describes the city as "an isolated community accessible only by aircraft or ship during ice-free months."
Conference in Alaska
Awareness of brownfields redevelopment opportunities in the northernmost state is growing, and gets a boost in early September. Alaska and National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) are jointly sponsoring a day-long workshop called "Community Development Opportunities for Alaska Brownfields." The event will be held at the Egan Civic and Convention Center on September 7 in Anchorage where, fortunately, there are lots of hotels.
For information about the workshop, contact John B. Carnahan.
Groundwork
Finding Funds at the State Level
Got a brownfield but lack the monetary means to tackle it?
All four Region 10 states are able to help organizations clean up brownfields by loaning out federal EPA money, but not every would-be developer is an eligible borrower because those funds are meant for public, nonprofit entities.
There are a myriad of other funding resources available, however, and the states can help potential developers find financing for a range of brownfields-related expenses beyond cleanup. Because when it comes to funding brownfields, every little bit does help.
The variety of sources
In some states, the programs are structured toward economic development, meaning jobs. That's why economic development departments are heavily involved in brownfields redevelopment, or even act as the primary resource.
Depending on the type of project, the property owner and the type of financing sought, a number of economic development programs can help with costs. Both Washington and Oregon, for example, have a Special Public Works Fund and a Brownfields Redevelopment Fund. Oregon also has the Credit Enhancement Program and the Oregon Capital Assess Program. In addition, the state manages the EPA-funded Oregon Industrial Lands Assessment Initiative which helps private property owners put industrial lands back to use.
In Alaska, brownfields fall primarily under the jurisdiction of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Yet Alaska also has a Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development, and several targeted departments within that addressing a range of economic development interests and funding.
In Idaho, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the state's six Economic Development Districts recently formed the Reuse Idaho Brownfields Coalition (RIBC). RIBC will offer loans and sub-grants to both public and private parties conducting brownfield cleanups.
Grants, bonds and tax incentives
Because brownfields are as much-if not more-about economic development as environmental cleanup, myriad other funding possibilities exist. All four states offer Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), for example. Grants aren't intended for cleanup, but can be used to pay for the parts of a brownfields project that come after.
Washington also has a Remedial Action Grant Fund that a public entity can access as a contaminator or as a party willing to buy and clean up a contaminated property. In addition, the state has a resource database of grants available for everything from trails to parking lots. These might not sound like brownfield-related projects, but the grants could be applicable depending on the planned end-use.
Bonds are sometimes an option for cleanup if that cleanup leads to business development. Washington also has business loans for expansion onto a brownfield, and the Community Economic Revitalization Board which does not fund cleanup but does fund feasibility studies and commercial buildings. Federal and local tax incentives don't fund brownfields projects, but can make such projects more financially appealing.
The Oregon and Washington brownfield programs have been around longer than Idaho's and Alaska's, hence the larger number of resources, yet all four states are equipped to assist property owners and potential developers, whether nonprofit or for-profit private parties.
Still, there's no easy way to sum up all the funding options as they vary by state, by developer and by intended end use. And as the area of brownfields redevelopment—and the agencies that manage them—continues to mature, no doubt the funds and programs for supporting these efforts will mature too.
Profile
Sharon Kophs Works for More Liveable Places
Sharon Kophs is a dealmaker. But she isn't the kind with an overly firm handshake or a steely glint in her eye.
Kophs, works for Washington State's Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED), and is decidedly low-key. Just don't let her niceness and small-town folksiness fool you. As program manager for the $5.8 million state-run Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund Program, she shepherds projects through the application, funding, cleanup and restoration process.
Deals can be a challenge
Since starting work at CTED in 2000 Kophs has helped usher in economic development on contaminated land that has sat idle for decades. Often that means jumping in her orange Saturn SUV and huddling with developers hundreds of miles away or talking one on one with city managers.
No matter the size or scope of a project, it's up to Kophs to find ways to make deals happen even when landowners are reluctant or cleanup costs are steep. Some property owners insist their land, despite years of contamination, is worth more than a private developer or municipality is willing to pay.
Other times, Kophs works to persuade cities that foreclosed land with environmental problems is a valuable public asset worth saving. With a business degree under her belt, Kophs doesn't forget the financial bottom line, especially among private-sector partners.
That's one reason she's pushing for a faster timeline in completing projects. Currently, most brownfields work in Washington takes about two years from the time an application is filed to the ribbon-cutting ceremony on a new building or development.
The Brownfields Coalition
Kophs also represents the state as part of the Brownfields Coalition, which includes King County, and the cities of Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane as partners. The coalition offers developers the chance to snag low-interest loans and a wealth of technical expertise.
These days more private sector developers are keeping the coalition busy, having overcome their reluctance to go through the additional steps to secure state loans, or to comply with public comment periods. "One reason it's growing is that we provide technical assistance throughout the cleanup process," Kophs says. "It's a cooperative program with the state's Department of Ecology."
One of the coalition's largest projects is currently underway in Spokane. Work is about to begin on a former railroad repair and maintenance facility along the north side of the Spokane River. Cleaning up 76 acres of contaminated soil will help open up several miles of high-value commercial and residential space, all within walking distance of downtown.
A history of environmental work
Before working for CTED, Kophs held a number of environmental cleanup positions-from helping create environmental cleanup technologies within EPA to doing education and outreach at the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute.
Kophs, who grew up in Kennewick, got her start in cleanup work at the nearby Hanford Nuclear Reservation. In 1990 she headed back to school and earned a master's degree in public administration with a focus on environmental policy from Eastern Washington University.
Kophs says nothing pleases her more than seeing contaminated land cleaned up and rehabbed for economic development.
"It's creating more livable, safer spaces," she says.
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