Brownfield Definition

The EPA originally defined a Brownfield as real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.  It was later expanded to include "abandoned or under-utilized" properties and mine scarred properties, as well as clarifications to include more contaminants such as petroleum and controlled substances.

Route 66 Brownfields

Established in 1928, historic Route 66, known as the “Mother Road,” became the country’s main east-west artery connecting communities from Chicago to Los Angeles with over 2,400 miles of continuously paved roadway.  A rich history is tied into Route 66 beyond the road itself.  It served as an agent of social transformation and represents a remnant of America’s past.  Cities and towns along Route 66 reaped the benefits of the highway with motels, diners, and gasoline and service stations springing up along the way as the country increasingly became a mobile society.  Northern Arizona communities flourished and grew from this western movement, first driven by those seeking the prospects of a new beginning during the Great Depression, later by traffic headed west to support the defense industry in the 1940s, and then by the new American phenomenon of the 1950s, the family vacation. 

By 1966, the interstate highway system replaced Route 66, bypassing over 200 miles of Route 66 roadway in Northern Arizona. This change coincided with other powerful forces that consolidated highway services, including the advent of traffic interchanges and the creation of national chains of gasoline stations, motels, and restaurants. The abandonment of Route 66 resulted in economic, environmental, and cultural resource implications that continue to plague Northern Arizona communities to this day.  National chains that sprang up at the interchanges supplanted the locally-owned businesses along the highway. Route 66 businesses became less viable, even closed, and many properties remain underutilized or abandoned. 

The environmental legacy includes over 1,100 known underground storage tanks in our area, about 40% of which have leaked. While a number of these have been properly removed and closed, concerns and suspicions of the potentially-contaminated sites remain. Combined with other sources, such as railroad facilities, timber production sites, and other commercial and industrial operations, we estimate that over 150 Brownfields sites may exist in the project area. The contaminants likely to be encountered at the sites are a host of petroleum hydrocarbons, as well as volatile organic compounds, heavy metals, and asbestos.

Using Flagstaff as an example, 27 motels along Route 66 are eligible for, or are listed on, the National Register of Historic Places.  The other highway supporting facilities, such as the diners and service stations, have not been evaluated, but are likely also eligible. The National Park Service, during the course of their recent study of all of Route 66, identified Route 66 in Flagstaff as the most intact segment in the country.  Setting aside the intrinsic benefits of preserving our heritage, these properties have the potential to be exploited for heritage tourism.  Heritage tourists stay longer, do more, and spend more than other tourists - approximately 50% more.  Albuquerque has successfully converted blighted Route 66 motels into viable businesses catering to heritage tourists.

There is great economic potential for these areas, including redevelopment, infill, tourism, heritage tourism, and more; however, the specter of unknown environmental hazards has hindered redevelopment.   

Community-wide Assessment Grants

EPA assessment grants provide funding to the community to inventory, characterize, assess, and conduct planning related to Brownfields sites. Eligible applicants include only governments and certain quasi-governmental agencies. An eligible entity may apply for up to $200,000 to assess sites contaminated by hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants (including hazardous substances co-mingled with petroleum) and up to $200,000 to address sites contaminated by petroleum. A coalition of three or more eligible applicants can submit one grant proposal under the name of one of the coalition members for up to $1,000,000. The performance period for these grants is three years.  Assessment grants do not provide resources to conduct cleanup or building demolition activities.

Prior Experience

The City of Flagstaff individually received this same Community-wide Assessment Grant in 2006. The subject area of that grant was much smaller, focused on south Downtown and a portion of Route 66.  However, with those funds, the City performed significant community outreach  and involvement, inventoried area properties, prepared a redevelopment plan for City owned properties on Phoenix Avenue, and prepared a GIS based Brownfield Sensitivity (planning) Map. Importantly, 20 Phase I and four (4) Phase II Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) were prepared for various public and private properties.  Approximately $120,000 was directly disseminated into the Flagstaff community in the form of contract awards and Environmental Site Assessments reports.  Grant compliance was exemplary and included the preparation of a Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) and a Health and Safety Plan (HASP), quarterly reports, MBE/WBE reports, and ACRES database reporting, as well as presentations given at three national conferences and three Western Brownfield Workshops.
  Key Considerations: Arizona Route 66 Coalition - IGAs

This grant has been submitted in the name of the City of Flagstaff representing the cities of Flagstaff, Winslow, and Holbrook and the counties of Coconino and Navajo. The City of Flagstaff has a track record of very successful grant management that is headed by the Grants Management Team (GMT) composed of the Grants Manager, Financial Officer/Accountant, and Project Representative and is currently managing $29,776,130 (FY 2013 budgeted grant revenue) in Federal and State grant funding.  As a result of this general expertise, and due to our specific experience with EPA Community-wide Assessment grants, the City of Flagstaff is the logical agency to lead the current effort.  By including our neighbors as partners, we will need to enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement [IGA - referred to as "Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)" in the grant documents] with each partner.  The agreements will memorialize the procedures between the various agencies, already conceptually drafted, and will pass along the rights and responsibilities of the grant terms from the City of Flagstaff to the partner communities.

Consultant Services

As with the 2006 Community-wide Assessment Grant, the majority of these funds will be expended for a number of consultants that perform services such as preparing ESAs and planning documents. Additionally, for this grant, the City of Flagstaff anticipates engaging a consultant for overall project administration and coordination, community outreach, and project specific assistance. Project administration would include establishing project protocols and preparing various required documents (QAPP and HASP), planning and managing the distribution of funds, managing the project selection process, and preparing and reporting to the EPA via the City, as well as the boards or councils of the Coalition.  Project coordination includes coordination with the City of Flagstaff Project Manager and other staff, coordinating the interactions and efforts of the Coalition partners, scheduling and conducting individual and/or group meetings, and coordinating grant activities with local, state, and federal agencies. This consultant would also be responsible for comprehensive community outreach including press releases and newsletters, meetings, and other strategies as well as assisting and advising all of the coalition partners in technical and procedural matters, evaluation of proposed projects, and on-site representation.
  Expanded Financial Considerations: Whole Community

For the broader community, this work will foster redevelopment and environmental clean-up, and it will aid with community planning.

Redevelopment directly reduces blight, sprawl, and the cost of city infrastructure, maintenance, and services, provides affordable space for businesses and employment, converts unproductive properties to tax generating properties, improves districts and neighborhoods, increases property values, improves the citizen's quality of life, supports commercial activities and tourism, and preserves heritage resources.  Surrounding business and properties indirectly enjoy many of these same benefits. 

There is a general public health benefit, and also a general ecosystem benefit for the community if contamination is cleaned up. This is especially true for sensitive sub-populations, such as children, pregnant women and the elderly, who can be disproportionately affected.  And, while cleaning up a contaminated site reduces exposure on a particular site, it also reduces exposure off-site by halting the migration of contamination into nearby air, soil and water. 

Understanding the extent of contamination of a property aids community and redevelopment planning, and economic development planning, by providing information to prospects early in the process, making more predictable the work needed to be done, allowing for a more accurate determination of profitability. 

Setting aside the previously noted economic benefits of heritage preservation, redevelopment through heritage preservation preserves the City’s unique sense of place, fosters a strong local identity based upon a sound understanding of our unique history, provides opportunities for public service and volunteerism, enhances local cultural life, and is a critical component of being a sustainable community by reducing reliance on new materials, environmentally unfriendly building materials, and energy intensive production and transport of new building materials. 

Property Owners

Direct benefits to specific property owners include many of the community benefits. More simply, having ESAs on hand makes the property inherently more valuable, particularly when they document that a property is not contaminated. This is the case for both private and public property owners, but private property owners also benefit from tax benefits associated with Brownfield redevelopment. The City of Flagstaff has utilized ESAs prepared with these funds as the basis of several land transactions, and for projects, reducing the draw down of other fund sources.
  Community Benefits and Considerations: Preparing the Grant

In preparing the grant, all of the communities along Route 66 in Arizona in all cities and all counties, were invited to participate. Due to time constraints and other considerations, not all were able to do so.  Multiple meetings of the interested communities were hosted by the City of Flagstaff to work out particulars, a draft IGA, and to prepare and review the grant application. Each participating community conducted two public meetings in their community to seek review and input on the application. These meetings were noticed on websites, advertised in local newspapers, and were further publicized with handbills and flyers.  Numerous agencies and associations were also consulted in the preparation of the application. We received 14 letters of support from these organizations including the Economic Collaborative of Northern Arizona (ECoNA), the Sustainable Economic Development Initiative (SEDI), the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona, the Rotary Clubs of Winslow and Flagstaff, the Holbrook Painted Desert Kiwanis Club, and the Standin’ on the Corner Foundation, Inc.  Additionally, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality was a vital partner in the development of this application.D

During the Grant Term

The work of this grant is divided into four tasks and Task 2 is titled "Community Involvement." The Coalition members will continue to keep the public, business, and regulatory community involved throughout the life of this grant (through mailings, website postings, City Council reports, newsletters, as well as public and one-on-one meetings) regarding the activities planned by the Coalition, schedule information, and utilize means by which individuals and interested organizations can stay informed and involved. Each of the application-supporting agencies and organizations have also committed to assisting with community involvement.