FOX21 News Colorado

Pueblo invites the public to learn about EPA grants

Courtesy: FOX21 News

(PUEBLO, Colo.) — The City of Pueblo is hosting a town hall on Tuesday, June 13 to provide an update on a grant that has been helping revitalize areas of Pueblo.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfield Assessment Brownfield Grant helps cities identify and manage brownfields that have an environmental concern for redevelopment and reuse and must include an assessment.

According to the City, a Brownfield is a property that “the expansion, redevelopment or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant.”

The grant period is from Oct. 1, 2020, through Sept. 30, 2023, and focuses on three areas of Pueblo; the heart of downtown with recreation assets like the Pueblo Riverwalk, the western section of downtown with rail sites and mix-use infill development and the third area is the decommissioned Pueblo Power Plant.

“We are happy to share the work the community has completed over the last two years revitalizing Pueblo,” said Senior Planner for the City of Pueblo, Wade Broadhead. “We are also happy to assist other property owners in ways to help identify and manage their properties that may have obstacles to redevelopment.”

The City gave a recent example of the success of the program with the former Keating School. The City used its grant to support the assessment of that property, which in turn was awarded an additional $1,000,000 grant for cleanup by the EPA. 

This meeting takes place at the Robert Hoag Rawlings Library on Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. in the Thurston Room. The public is invited to join the meeting to find out about the project, learn about future plans, ask questions, and find out more about the target areas of the project.