Lamar Receives EPA Brownfields Grant

Opal’s Has Been Under Past Consideration

Lamar is one of four Colorado communities set to receive a share of a $1.1M grant to advance environmental assessment and property redevelopment. The other three are Canon City, Florence and Pueblo.  Lamar’s share of the grant is $300,000 to assess properties along the city’s downtown core, including sites along the Arkansas River and the BNSF railroad corridor.  The EPA Brownfields grants can be used to help communities restore blighted properties and to assess potential sources of asbestos contamination in some properties slated for demolition or refurbishment.

The majority of funds for Lamar will be used to conduct a study of buildings in Lamar that have the potential for asbestos content. Several have been identified and listed for future action by the Lamar City Council.  One funding source was addressed by the council in 2016, the Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Program, created by the EPA.  The EPA defines a brownfield as “real property, the expansion, redevelopment or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant”.

Late last year, the city council applied for funding from the CDPHE 1306 Brownfields Cleanup Grant to tear down and remove the former Troy Manor Motel at 1101 South Main Street. The city’s match of the project would be 20% and would be met through in-kind contributions.  The first part of the project would be to determine the amount, if any, of asbestos contained in the site before demolition could begin and the approximate cost of the project, set at $152,359 following a bid received by the city from a local contractor.  The grant application stipulates that at least three bids must be submitted for selection.

The council is expected to take note of the awarding of the EPA grant at a future meeting and plan its steps from there.

By Russ Baldwin