Resolution accepting and approving a Community-Wide Assessment Grant Cooperative Agreement between the City of Mankato and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Adoption of the attached resolution.

In January 2026, an application was submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a community-wide assessment grant. In June 2026, the City was notified and awarded a $500,000 community-wide assessment grant from the EPA. This grant provides funding to inventory, characterize, assess, and conduct planning and community engagement related to brownfield sites. EPA defines a brownfield as property where the redevelopment or reuse of the property may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of contamination.

Staff has been working with the EPA to finalize the cooperative agreement and other documents necessary to begin utilizing the grant funds. The City previously entered into a contract with Stantec who would conduct the assessments and assist with planning and community engagement. Any site assessments completed would be entirely voluntary and only performed with the permission of the property owner. Local matching funds are not a requirement of the funding.

This 2026 grant award represents the City's third EPA Community-Wide Assessment Grant award. The City's first award was in May 2017 for a $300,000 grant which concluded in 2021 and all funds were fully utilized. The City's second award was in May 2021 for a $300,000 grant which concluded in 2024. Due to the highly competitive nature of the EPA grant funds, staff implemented a dual-procurement process to work with an experienced environmental consulting firm. This allowed 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 issued a request for qualifications to environmental firms and Stantec's proposal was accepted. Staff worked with Stantec on successful implementation of the first grant award and second grant award, and would continue working with Stantec on this 2026 award.

The first grant award included seven Phase I Environmental Site Assessments, five Phase II Environmental Site Assessments, three regulated hazardous materials surveys, one lead-based paint screening, vapor mitigation system design, one Response Action Plan, and the Riverside North Area Wide Plan. The second grant award included 6 Phase I Environmental Site Assessments, 4 Phase II Environmental Site Assessments, and the Jefferson Quarry Redevelopment Plan. The grant awards also allowed City staff to attend the U.S. EPA National Brownfield Conference and Council of Development Finance Agencies Introduction to Brownfield Financing Course.

The EPA Community-Wide Assessment Grant program has worked well to assist with reuse or redevelopment of brownfield sites as scattered assessments can be completed with this single grant award. It is more efficient to assist several property owners with environmental investigations under this grant program, as several properties can be investigated with a single grant award. With other grant programs, staff need to apply for a separate grant for each specific site when grants are available for application.

Staff recommends approval and acceptance of the EPA Community-Wide Assessment Grant Cooperative Agreement between the City of Mankato and the US EPA.