MARYSVILLE — The city of Marysville is one of eight communities in the Pacific Northwest recently awarded a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to assess, clean up and revitalize regional brownfield properties.
The EPA allocated $2.6 million from the federal agency’s Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund and Cleanup Grants program. EPA Region 10 covers Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska and 271 Native tribes.
Marysville will receive a $200,000 Brownfields grant to assist with its Ebey waterfront marina land cleanup. The cleanup grant would be used to remediate contaminated ground city-owned marina property at 1326 First St., just west of the Ebey Waterfront Park. The marina property contains waterfront chemicals and pollutants common to the timber industry and marine operations that have existed since the late 1800s. Grant funds will also be used to conduct groundwater monitoring and support community involvement activities.
“Brownfields grant dollars are a key component of realizing our goals of downtown and waterfront revitalization,” Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring said. “This grant is an important tool to helping us redevelop the marina property, and bring jobs and economic development back to our waterfront.”
The grants help revitalize former industrial sites, turning them from problem properties to productive community use.
The EPA previously awarded the city of Marysville with a Brownfields grant in May of 2009 to clean up the Crown Pacific/Interfor mill site at 60 State Ave., on the waterfront just east of State Avenue.
The third time was the charm for city of Marysville Engineering Services Manager Shawn Smith, who applied for the grant, which will be officially issued on Oct. 1. However, hiring a consultant to develop a cleanup plan that meets with the approval of the state Department of Ecology and the EPA means that it could be 2015 before actual work starts.
According to Smith, the grant can be used to clean up the entire property, including the upland and in-water portions of the site.
Long-term plans as identified in the city of Marysville’s 2009 Downtown Master Plan would see the Ebey waterfront redeveloped with trails, apartments or condominiums and some commercial development. Smith noted that no specific plans have been decided for the marina site.
