Resolution authorizing City Manager to submit EPA Brownfield Community-wide Assessment Grant Application.

Adoption of the attached resolution.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers a community-wide assessment grant program that provides funding to inventory, characterize, assess, and conduct planning and community involvement related to brownfields sites. Brownfields are properties where the redevelopment or reuse of the property may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of contamination. Some examples of brownfield sites include former gas stations and dry cleaners. Completing an environmental assessment is often the first necessary step in brownfield redevelopment, as it identifies whether the soil or groundwater is contaminated and helps to define the extent of the contamination. If contamination is found, the assessment then allows the property owner and their development team, including their environmental consultant, architect, and engineers, to devise a plan to address any issues discovered by developing a cleanup plan and/or potentially revising the building plans to avoid contact with the contamination. There are numerous benefits to brownfield redevelopment, including both from an environmental and economic perspective. Additional information on the benefits of brownfield redevelopment can be found from Minnesota Brownfields.
 
The City was awarded a U.S. EPA brownfield assessment grant in the amount of $300,000 for Fiscal Year 2017 and in the amount of $300,000 for Fiscal Year 2021. Both grants have been expended. EPA has increased the maximum grant award amount to $500,000 for Fiscal Year 2025 and also increased the term of the grant from three years to four years. With the City’s previous EPA assessment grants, activities completed include the Riverside North Area Wide Plan, Jefferson Quarry Redevelopment Plan, and environmental site assessments for scattered properties within Mankato.

A few examples of environmental site assessments completed with the past EPA assessment grants that assisted with reuse and redeveloping include 304 North 2^nd Street (Silos), 121 East Main Street (Landmark), 228 Poplar Street (Locale Brewing Company) and 505-507 North Riverfront Drive (Studio 5).
 
A number of brownfield sites have been redeveloped throughout the City over the past few years, most with funding assistance through the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). The DEED and MPCA grant programs have been vital to brownfield redevelopment efforts and the receipt of an EPA assessment grant would add another possible resource for sites that don’t fit well into the priorities of the DEED or MPCA programs. It is anticipated that the number of brownfields undergoing redevelopment will continue to increase, especially as redevelopment opportunities arise within the City Center and along prominent corridors, such as Madison Avenue and North Riverfront Drive. Due to a long history of commercial and industrial development, these areas have a higher concentration of brownfield sites and conducting site assessments in these areas will help to facilitate redevelopment.  Resources, including cleanup grants and loans, may be available through DEED and EPA for contaminated sites that will be undergoing redevelopment. Additionally, the completed site investigations may reveal that no contamination exists at the site and redevelopment can proceed.
 
The EPA community-wide assessment grant application is due on November 14, 2024. The program can provide up to $500,000 in funds for inventory, community engagement, site reuse planning, assessment and cleanup planning for brownfield sites. EPA assessment funds are highly competitive as more communities throughout the United States seek funds. Because of the competitive nature of the funds, staff began a dual-procurement process to work with an experienced environmental consulting firm. This allows the City to seek proposals from consulting firms to both assist with the grant application and, if awarded a grant, the implementation of the project. Staff reviewed the four proposals submitted and scored them based on their identification of key personnel and experience/capability, resources and key personnel available to perform work in a reasonable time frame, respondent’s approach to successfully completing each scope of service task, specific experience, references and/or considerations the respondent has that makes it uniquely qualified and reasonable overall cost/hours/rate schedule.
 
After reviewing the proposals received, staff recommends working with Stantec to complete the grant application, and if awarded funds by EPA, implement the grant. Based on the review criteria, Stantec had the highest score of the four proposals. Areas in which Stantec scored higher than the other proposals include their ability and experience for reuse and cleanup planning and community engagement methodologies. The City contracted with Stantec for the application and implementation of the Fiscal Year 2017 and 2021 EPA brownfield assessment grants which were successfully administered. Should funds be awarded, the City would contract with Stantec for implementation of the grant.
 
Local matching funds are not a requirement of the funding, but can make an application more competitive. Some staff time could be considered an in-kind match and there is a possibility, depending on the proposed end use, that Community Development Block Grant Funds (CDBG) could be used to further investigate or clean up a site. CDBG funds would only be used if the Council has determined that the site redevelopment helps meet a community need and formally includes the use of funds in an Annual Action Plan.
 
Should the Council support the submission of an EPA assessment grant application, the attached resolution can be adopted. It is anticipated grant awards will be announced in mid to late spring 2025.