EPA gives Council Bluffs $500,000 grant to clean up contaminated property
The property is the site of an old battery factory from the 1920s
The Environmental Protection Agency gave the city of Council Bluffs a $500,000 grant to clean up the site of a former battery factory. The city will use the money to remove the contaminated soil and creating new housing in the area.
“For a long time, this building was a scar on the neighborhood and the activities that went on left residual contamination in the ground that needed to be removed and remediated,” said Council Bluff’s Mayor, Matt Walsh.
The grant is part of the EPA’s Brownfields grant program, a highly competitive program which focuses on revitalization by cleaning up hazardous properties.
“Brownfields is an awesome program. A lot of sites are hindered for redevelopment because of the stigma caused by contamination,” said DeAndre’ Singletary, EPA Division Director in charge of redevelopment in Region 7.
Walsh said the city removed the asbestos and abandoned buildings from the site last year with the help of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Lead and volatile organic compounds still remain in the soil at 813 22nd Avenue, which is surrounded by homes.
“It was time to fulfill a promise to the neighborhood and get it done,” said Walsh.
Reliance Battery Manufacturing started operating on 22ndAve in Council Bluffs in the 1920’s, isolated from homes and neighborhoods, but over the last 100 years, neighborhoods formed around the property.
“When complete, we will over excavate this property, get the contaminated soil out of the property and bring in new soil and repurpose it for residential homes which fit better in the neighborhood,” said Walsh.