An $800,000 EPA grant will clean up contaminated sites near Port Orchard waterfront

PORT ORCHARD — With significant plans for Bay Street already in the works, a visit from a federal delegation this week signaled more opportunity looming for property near Port Orchard's city hall.

A waterfront property that formerly housed a gas station with underground storage tanks and a sheet metal fabrication business was purchased by the Port of Bremerton in 2021. The Port identified that there were slight traces of benzene, petroleum, diesel and gasoline in the soils. To conduct further assessment and set up cleanup activities for the so-called brownfield site, the Port in May received a federal grant of $800,000 to cover the cost.

"Everything we've done in our preliminary is to find out what is in the soils. And now we go into this phase of, okay, what are we going to do to get rid of them?" Arne Bakker, COO of Port of Bremerton, said.

In February, the port received a $130,000 grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce to provide funding for the first phase of assessments, which identified the environmental contamination at the site. Now, the $800,000 grant awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on May 25 will help the Port to further assess the needs and conduct clean-up activities for future redevelopment.

"The fact that the federal government is investing in the city of Port Orchard means environmental cleanup, means economic opportunity, and it means that the project is able to move forward without the cost solely being born by taxpayers locally. All of that is really good news," said U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer about the EPA funding.

Port of Bremerton's project is exactly what EPA's Brownfields program was designed to do, said EPA Region 10 Administrator Casey Sixkiller, who visited the site in downtown Port Orchard on Monday with Kilmer, Mayor Rob Putaansuu and other local officials and community leaders.

Not knowing what an actual environmental impact could be at brownfield sites often is a barrier to developing and revitalizing these lands. With the federal money that would cover the rest of the cleanup cost, the port can now focus on what the future of the property is, Sixkiller said.

"It's that kind of partnership that really is at the cornerstone of our investment agenda right now," Sixkiller said. EPA Region 10 serves Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska.

The port was among the seven selected organizations that received a total $4.5 million grant from EPA. Other organizations selected for the federal funding are Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation ($768,689), Grays Harbor Council of Governments ($1,000,000), City of Kelso ($500,000), Port of Whitman County ($500,000), Spokane Low Income Housing Consortium ($500,000) and City of Tumwater ($500,000).

Brownfields are abandoned or underutilized properties that may have environmental contamination. These sites could be old gas stations, dry cleaners, industrial facilities, smelters, or former agricultural land located in communities of all sizes, according to the Washington State Department of Ecology.

Future use of the property: Undecided

Currently on the brownfield site are Hank's Sheet Metal & Heating and the Western Washington Center for the Arts. The port hasn't decided how to reuse the land after the clean up, but it has recognized the possibility to redevelop the location to support the local community, said Jim Rothlin, CEO of Port of Bremerton.

The site was next to the boat launch, which is important for community and tribal fishing and also for the boat manufacturer SAFE Boats to test and train their boats, Rothlin pointed out.

"We're not sure if they're (SAFE Boats) going to need more room to do other things or what's going to happen here yet, so that's an opportunity. But also we're very aware of all the development that was going on with the city," Rothlin said.

The city of Port Orchard is planning to build a South Kitsap Community Event Center at the current Kitsap Bank location to create spaces for multi-purpose community gatherings and Kitsap Bank is constructing a new office building to house the bank. The Port of Bremerton will start replacing the 1974-built breakwater at Port Orchard Marina later this summer, with a recent $9.4 million infusion from a federal grant announced by the Department of Transportation last week.

"The port really sees this piece of property as may be supporting that growth as well," Rothlin said.

The port is now preparing an action plan to check the needs and will move forward to the clean-up activities next year, Bakker said.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Port Orchard downtown waterfront site eyed for redevelopment