Clackamas County to host brownfields workshop

Clackmas County is applying for a $200,000 Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Assessment Grant and will seek public input Thursday to help shape its county brownfields program.

County officials at the workshop will gather community input on the use of federal grant funds to deal

The intent of the grant application is to obtain funds that Clackamas County can use to get industrial and commercial properties back into productive use to create family-wage jobs, increase property values and reduce community blight.

The grant proposal is the county's second and is an attempt to build on the success of a prior $200,000 EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant. Funds from that grant have been used to advise 40 property owners on brownfield issues and to conduct Phase I Environmental Site Assessments on 26 properties and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments on seven properties.

Funds from the county's first Brownfields Assessment Grant were also used to hold outreach forums to inform property owners about brownfield redevelopment and the options and resources available to them.

The brownfields grant workshop will be held from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Sunnybrook Service Center, 9101 S.E. Sunnybrook Blvd., Clackamas. For more information, contact Renate Mengelberg with the county's Business and Economic Development Team by phone at 503-353-4327 or by e-mail at renatem@co.clackamas.or.us.